Reints R, et al. – The target of this study was to scrutinize the impact of flexible and rigid rocker profiles on in–shoe pressure. The findings illustrated larger reductions of forefoot plantar pressures with the usage of rigid rockers. However, it led to a worse increase of plantar pressures at the first toe compared to rockers that allow toe dorsiflexion.

Methods

• Data with regard to the in-shoe plantar pressure were yielded for a control shoe and the same shoe with rigid and flexible rockers, with the apex positioned at 50% and 60%.
• Maximum mean pressure (MMP) and force-time integral (FTI) were investigated for seven regions of the foot, for 29 healthy female adults peak plantar pressure (PP).
• Generalized estimate equation examined the impact of different shoes on the outcome measures for these regions.

Results

• A marked increase of PP and FTI was discovered at the first toe for both rigid rockers and the flexible rocker with the apex positioned at 60%, compared to the control shoe.
• MMP, on the other hand, exhibited a prominent rise in rockers with an apex position of 60% (p < 0.001).
• PP at the first toe was reported to be considerably lower in flexible rockers when compared to rigid rockers (p < 0.001).
• For both central and lateral forefoot, PP and MMP appeared to be notably more reduced in rigid rockers (p < 0.001), while for the medial forefoot, there were no variations.