NCT04971915

The Effect of Minimalist Footwear on the Anthropometric and Biomechanical Parameters of the Lower Limb and Foot

The Effect of Minimalist Footwear on the Anthropometric and Biomechanical Parameters of the Lower Limb and Foot During Long-Term Wearing: A Randomized Clinical Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 50 (actual)
• Sponsor: Palacky University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The study aims to determine whether 6months of wearing minimalist footwear causes changes in anthropometric parameters of the foot and the biomechanical parameters of the foot and lower limb.

Detailed description

The minimalist footwear represents an alternative style of footwear wearing, which could allow the foot to move more naturally compared to the footwear wearing in conventional footwear. That footwear is characterized by no cushioning, wide toe box, zero foot drop, thin sole (1,5 - 8 mm), low weight, and high flexibility of footwear. This study aims to determine the effect of 6months of wearing minimalist footwear on the foot and lower limb's anthropometric and biomechanical parameters. The study is designed as a parallel interventional study. The sample size consists of 50 healthy individuals divided into experimental and control groups by randomization. All participants undergo the initial examination and baseline and final measurement focused on the foot anthropometry and kinetics and kinematics of the foot and lower limb during walking. Besides, the experimental group undergoes a 6months intervention of wearing minimalist footwear, during which the participants will record their movement behavior by electronic diary.

Conditions

• Footwear

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	minimalist footwear	The intervention consists of wearing the minimalist footwear in recommended progression during the interventional period (6months). The intial load starts at 2,500 steps a day and will be gradually increased up according to the participant´s tolerance rate to the footwear wearing to fully use over the final period. Participants are instructed to report all issues and difficulties possibly connected to the intervention. There will be the opportunity to consult any issue connected with footwear or their wearing through the duration of the research.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-07-05
• Primary completion: 2022-12-05
• Completion: 2022-12-05
• First posted: 2021-07-22
• Last updated: 2022-12-16

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: Czechia