ArticleCommunications medicine2025
Biomechanical mechanisms underlying the effect of minimalist footwear on walking stability in persons with a history of falls.
Article in Communications medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Probiotic mediated modulation of neonatal health: a meta-analysis of prematurity-related morbidity, jaundice, and respiratory distress.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Video Monitoring for Inpatient Fall Prevention: A Retrospective Matched Cohort Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Examining the Effects of Dual and Single Task Exercises in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Fear of Falling, Balance Disturbances, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Post-Stroke Inpatients: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFootwear design influences sensory input and motor control during gait-key factors in fall risk among older adults. Our previous work showed that minimalist footwear alters walking stability in individuals with a history of falls, but the underlying biomechanical mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated how footwear type influences lower-limb biomechanics, whether these effects are altered by cognitive load, and whether they mediate adaptations in gait stability.
methodsIn this cross-sectional repeated-measures design, thirty older adults with a history of falls (mean ± SD age 68.6 ± 4.4 years) completed walking trials under three footwear types (barefoot, supportive, minimalist) and two task conditions (single and dual-task with cognitive load). 3D kinematics, ground reaction forces, and surface electromyography were collected to quantify joint angles, powers, and muscle activity. Statistical parametric mapping and linear mixed models tested condition effects and cognitive load interactions, while mediation analysis assessed whether biomechanical changes explain previously reported stability differences.
resultsHere we show that minimalist shoes induce distinct biomechanical adaptations, including greater ankle dorsiflexion and external rotation, reduced hip flexion during stance, and increased knee flexion during swing. They also enhance hip and ankle joint power generation and elicit higher activity in rectus femoris and vastus lateralis. These effects are consistent across cognitive conditions. Hip kinematics, kinetics, and quadriceps muscle activity mediated adaptations in gait stability observed with minimalist footwear.
conclusionsThese findings identify specific neuromuscular changes associated with minimalist footwear that may explain adaptations in walking stability. Our results support the development of footwear-based interventions for fall prevention in older adults and highlights the need for randomized controlled trials in broader populations to confirm causality.
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Registered trials
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