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The effect of toe-only rocker sole shoes on gait variability of the elderly

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A Correction to this article was published on 08 July 2022

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Abstract

Gait variability could associate with fall risk in older people. Rocker sole shoes are commonly prescribed to reduce plantar pressure and facilitate forward movement. Thus, it may affect gait stability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of toe-only rocker shoes on gait variability in the elderly. Seventeen healthy elderly participants walked on a treadmill under six different conditions including barefoot (BF), normal shoe (NS), and four types of toe-only rocker sole shoes with various degrees of rocker angle (RS10, RS20, RS30, and RS40). Then the step length variability (SLV), the step time variability (STV), the step width variability (SWV), and the stance time variability were measured. Increasing rocker angle in toe-only rocker did not significantly affect gait variability more than the standard shoe. It seems that different rocker angles in toe-only rocker sole shoes do not pose a threat to gait variability compared to the standard shoes in healthy elderly. Findings of the study suggested that the toe-only rocker sole can be used to facilitate forward progression in the elderly. Further investigation is also required to examine the long-term effects of toe-only rocker sole shoes on gait variability in frail elderly.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rehabilitation Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Fatemeh Hemmati & Mohammad Taghi Karimi

  2. Department of Orthotics and Prosthetics, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Fatemeh Hemmati & Mohammad Ali Mardani

  3. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz, Iran

    Seyed Iman Hosseini

  4. Red Crescent Society of Yazd Province, Yazd, Iran

    Mohammad Ali Mardani

  5. Aging Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Fadayevatan

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  1. Fatemeh Hemmati
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Correspondence to Mohammad Taghi Karimi.

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All the procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences committee, Ref number: IR.USWR.REC.1396.283) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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All the participants signed a consent form before data collection.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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The original online version of this article was revised: Order of author and corresponding author has been updated.

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Hemmati, F., Karimi, M.T., Hosseini, S.I. et al. The effect of toe-only rocker sole shoes on gait variability of the elderly. Med Biol Eng Comput 60, 2493–2498 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-022-02605-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-022-02605-0

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