Does Footwear Influence the Structure of Chaotic Gait Patterns?

It is well known that chaos is a central feature of human locomotion (Buzzi et al., 2003; Dingwell et al., 2000). A chaotic gait pattern means that the lower extremity kinematics fluctuate from one step to the next with a deterministic pattern. Historically, fluctuations in the gait pattern were considered to be random noise or error in the output of the nervous system. However, recent investigations have suggested the contrary and have indicated that the chaotic structure present in the lower extremity kinematics may be related to the health of the neuromuscular system (Buzzi et al., 2003; Dingwell et al., 2000).