Do people who load their feet differently need insoles that have different stiffness?
CHATZISTERGOS, Panagiotis, NAEMI, Roozbeh, CHOCKALINGAM, Nachiappan, Gerth, P., NoReply, IS, Suresh, S., Ramachandran, A. and SUNDAR, Lakshmi (2016) Do people who load their feet differently need insoles that have different stiffness? Foot and Ankle Surgery, 22 (2). p. 66. ISSN 12687731
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Abstract or description
Background: Plantar pressure reduction is an important aspect of diabetic foot management. However little information exists about the optimum cushioning properties of materials used in diabetic footwear as insoles/foot-beds. Numerical analyses have indicated that optimizing the material properties of footwear materials can improve their ability to reduce pressure.
Aim: To investigate if the optimal insole stiffness would vary based on patients’ body mass (BM) in people with diabetic neuropathy.
Method: Custom PU foams were produced using different ratios of chemical components to achieve a range of different stiffness. Uniform thickness (400 mm × 400 mm × 10 mm) foam sheets were produced with shore-A hardness between 3 and 45 and average(±stdev) increments of 5(±3). Standardized compression tests were performed for all 10 custom materials as well as for 3 commercially available foam materials used in diabetic footwear. Plantar pressure was measured during balanced standing on all custom material sheets for 4 diabetic neuropathic volunteers: 2 with BM of 49 kg ± 1 kg and 2 with BM of 73 kg ± 2 kg.
Results: The maximum compressive force for 50% compression of the commercially available foams was similar to custom foams with 11–28 shore-A hardness. Peak plantar pressure was minimised for materials with shore-A hardness 6 and 11 in subjects with BM of 49 kg ± 1 kg and 73 kg ± 2 kg respectively. In all cases using softer or stiffer material (by 1 shore hardness increment) increased pressure by 24% ± 26% and 32% ± 34% respectively.
Conclusions: Careful selection of insole/foot-bed stiffness can improve the pressure reduction capacity of diabetic footwear. Optimum material stiffness increased with the BM of the volunteers.
Item Type: | Article |
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Faculty: | School of Life Sciences and Education > Sport and Exercise |
Depositing User: | Roozbeh NAEMI |
Date Deposited: | 02 Jun 2017 11:40 |
Last Modified: | 24 Feb 2023 13:47 |
URI: | https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/3156 |
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