Physiological responses during treadmill walking at a constant speed while wearing shoes with a rounded soft sole in the anterior–posterior direction – oxygen intake, heart rate, and ratings of perceived exertion

Abstract

Shoes with a rounded soft sole in the anterior–posterior direction are used to reinforce muscle groups related to the ankle joints in addition to being used as therapeutic footwear for the reduction of shear. This study aimed to examine physiological responses during treadmill walking at a constant speed while wearing these specially designed shoes. Ten healthy young male adults (mean age: 23.2 ± 3.8 years) walked on a treadmill with three kinds of shoes – shoes with a rounded soft sole in the anterior–posterior direction (‘Stretch Walker’, mass: 440 g), ‘Masai Barefoot Technology’ (similar to Stretch Walker in form and material, but heavier, mass: 600 g), and flat-bottomed shoes (mass: 420 g). The wearing order of the shoes was performed at random for each subject. After 4 min of rest, subjects walked on a treadmill for 6 min at 50% of maximum walking speed. The subjects walked with each pair of shoes three times after taking a sufficient rest between trials and confirming heart rate stability. The heart rate (HR), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and oxygen intake (VO₂) by the breath-by-breath method, were measured at 1-min intervals. The results of one-way analysis of variance showed that the VO₂ was significantly larger in flat-bottomed shoes than in Stretch Walker (p < 0.05), but HR and RPE showed non-significant differences among the three kinds of shoes.In conclusion, it was suggested that wearing the shoes with a rounded soft sole in the anterior–posterior direction (Stretch Walker) permits the user to walk with less oxygen intake than wearing the normal shoes with a similar weight if the speed and distance are equal.

Keywords:

• foot and ankle
• footwear
• gait
• shoe
• endurance