ArticleMusculoskeletal care2025
Minimalist Footwear in the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Lower Limb Impairments Across the Life Course: A Scoping Review.
Article in Musculoskeletal care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Minimalist Footwear and Knee Joint Loading During Walking in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review of Evidence for Osteoarthritis Prevention.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMinimalist footwear has emerged as an alternative to traditional footwear styles and advocated for the management of several foot and lower limb pathologies.
objectiveThe objective of this scoping review was to map the clinical potential of minimalist footwear (concept) in the treatment and/or rehabilitation of lower limb impairments (context) across the life course (population). DATA SOURCES: Systematic searches were undertaken across MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL from 2000 to 2024. STUDY SELECTION OR ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Studies evaluating minimalist footwear as an intervention or adjunct to an intervention in clinical populations, or where a clinical need has been defined, across all age groups, were included. Eligible studies were primary research published in English from the year 2000 onwards. DATA SYNTHESIS: A narrative analysis was undertaken and our findings were reported in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
resultsSixteen studies were identified in clinical populations ranging from adolescents with patello-femoral pain (14.3; SD: 1.7 years) to older adults with balance ability (73.4; SD: 3.9 years); studies focussing on knee pathology were the most common (n = 9). The influence of minimalist footwear on outcome measures varied across the studies and reported mechanisms of action included somatosensory, biomechanical and neuromuscular factors. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our review has mapped the clinical populations where minimalist footwear has been tested and most focus on knee pathology, specifically knee osteoarthritis. Our review has identified the biomechanical, functional, and clinical variables reported in studies and future work testing the clinical benefits of minimalist footwear interventions is recommended.
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Registered trials
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