Dynamic footwear fit model similar to NIOSH lifting equation

Abstract

Improper footwear design causes injuries and illnesses, and hence it is important to understand not only the foot but also the footwear. In order to reduce injuries and illnesses, the foot and footwear have to match in such a way to avoid high pressure points and friction due to movements. As far as footwear fit is concerned, literature review has indicated that static footwear fit has mostly been studied, even though dynamic pressure, friction, and foot movement beyond the normal range of motion will cause different type of injuries and illnesses when compared to static fit. Therefore, this paper proposes a theoretical model for dynamic fit. The dynamic footwear fit model is developed similar to the NIOSH lifting equation. The dynamic fit is related to static fit and several multipliers related to footwear design, material properties, and time factor. More research is being carried out to set the parameter values of the theoretical model. The importance of this model is useful for quantification of dynamic footwear fit as it is more related to the actual situation. Better footwear fit, both static and dynamic, will generally improve foot health.