OBJECTIVE Workers in shoe manufacturing have been reported to be at a greater relative risk for bronchogenic carcinoma. Given the implications for our practice setting, we carried out a study to a) clarify whether working in shoe manufacturing is a risk factor for lung cancer and b) detect histological differences between lung cancers in shoe manufacturers and in other lung cancer patients. P...

The complex structural and material behaviour of the human heel fat pad determines the transmission of plantar loading to the lower limb across a wide range of loading scenarios; from locomotion to injurious incidents. The aim of this study was to quantify the hyper-viscoelastic material properties of the human heel fat pad across strains and strain rates. An inverse finite element (FE) optimis...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether maternal prepregnancy shoe size can be used to reliably predict infant birth weight. METHOD This is a cross-sectional study of 111 consecutive patients admitted to the maternity care unit of a small community hospital. Data collected included prepregnancy height, maternal weight, maternal shoe size, maternal age, gravidity, parity, ethnicity, and method of deliv...

The foot's response to load during weightbearing is investigated using finite element stress analysis of a two-dimensional model. The analysis predicts the stress states within the plantar aspect tissue during a variety of shoe conditions. Shoe soles with a range of elastic properties are modeled in an attempt to find a shoe sole that minimizes peak stresses within the foot's soft tissue. This ...

This study reports an investigation into the effect of shoe mass on the gait patterns of below-knee (BK) amputees. Ten established unilateral BK, patellar-tendon-bearing prosthesis wearers were assessed using a VICON system of gait analysis. Incremental masses of 50g (up to 200g) were added to the subjects' shoes and data captured as they walked along a 15m measurement field. Coefficients of sy...

PURPOSE This study tests if running economy differs in minimal shoes versus standard running shoes with cushioned elevated heels and arch supports and in forefoot versus rearfoot strike gaits. METHODS We measured the cost of transport (mL O(2)·kg(-1)·m(-1)) in subjects who habitually run in minimal shoes or barefoot while they were running at 3.0 m·s(-1) on a treadmill during forefoot and rea...

BACKGROUND Excessive shoe heel abrasion is of concern to patients and shoe manufacturers, but little scientific information is available about this feature and its possible causes. The purpose of this study was to relate this phenomenon with biomechanical factors that could predispose to shoe heel abrasion. METHODS Ninety-seven recruits (median age 25) were enrolled in this study. Shoe abrasi...

INTRODUCTION The mechanical environment of the knee during walking can influence both the health and breakdown of the knee cartilage. With walking being the most common activity of daily living as well as producing a cyclically reproducible pattern of loading a close link to the maintenance of healthy knee cartilage is indicated.(1) Normally 60–80% of the total intrinsic compressive load transm...