Ground Reaction Force and Foot Pressure Changes with Different Floor Materials during Barefoot and Shod Walking

Abstract

Studying the biomechanical gait alterations; as changes in step length, speed and angle of foot placement, during walking on different floor materials has been an interesting field of study. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of changing the floor material on the ground reaction force and the foot pressure distribution during barefoot and shod walking. The heel strike transient and the peak pressures at the heel and big toe were recorded in thirty healthy male subjects during barefoot and shod walking on four different floor materials; "ceramic", "wood", ''vinyl" and "none". The mean age ofparticipants was 21.3 years(± 1.3), mean weight was 69.8 Kg(± 9.9) and mean height was 172.2 em (± 7.0). Motion Analysis System "Qualisys" was used to collect the ground reaction force data while the "MatScan" plantar pressure system was used to collect the peak pressures at the heel and big toe. Results revealed that there was a non-significant difference among the four floor materials for the heel strike transient, peak pressure at the heel and peak pressure at the big toe during barefoot walking. However for the heel strike transient, results revealed that there was a significant difference among the four floor materials during shod walking. Also, the mean value of the heel strike transient was significantly lower during barefoot than shod walking. It was, thus, concluded that the floor material may not alter the heel strike transient or the peak pressures at the heel and big toe regions during barefoot walking. Meanwhile, the heel strike transient might be affected when the floor material is changed during shod walking. The degree of compliance of the flooring and/or the shoe soling might have a more profound effect on altering the ground reaction force and the foot pressure distribution in healthy individuals than the material of the floor alone.