Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2009 Jan;38(1):62-7.
doi: 10.1093/ageing/afn219. Epub 2008 Nov 11.

The effects of usual footwear on balance amongst elderly women attending a day hospital

N Frances Horgan  1 , Fiona Crehan, Emma Bartlett, Fiona Keogan, Anne Marie O'Grady, Allan R Moore, Ciaran F Donegan, Martina Curran
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The effects of usual footwear on balance amongst elderly women attending a day hospital

N Frances Horgan et al. Age Ageing. 2009 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: to examine the effects of footwear on balance in a sample of older women attending a day hospital.

Design: this was a crossover trial with a quasi-randomised allocation.

Setting: assessments took place in the geriatric day hospital.

Subjects: a cohort of 100 older women aged 60 years and over attending a day hospital.

Methods: demographic data and a brief falls history were recorded. Participant's footwear was assessed using a footwear assessment form. A Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was completed under two conditions--shoes on and shoes off with order counter-balanced.

Results: the mean BBS was 39.07 (SD 9.14) with shoes on and 36.54 (SD 10.39) with shoes off (P < 0.0001). Balance scores were significantly higher with shoes on for 10 of the 14 Berg subcategories. Lower barefoot BBS scores were associated with a greater beneficial effect of footwear on balance (P < 0.001). Shoe characteristics were not associated with change in the BBS score.

Conclusions: Wearing their own footwear significantly improved participants' balance compared to being barefoot. The greatest benefit of footwear was seen in those with the poorest balance. Further studies should investigate whether particular types of footwear are associated with greater benefit.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types