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Mobility Assistive Technology

Mobility Assistive Technology

Footwear has protected feet for thousands of years, with stylish, fashionable shoes made of expensive materials socially reserved for exclusive populations. Only relatively recently has footwear been adopted by all classes in the Western world as integral apparel. Traditionally constructed from natural leathers, shoes have benefitted from material and design innovations enabled by modern technology. This expansion has increased choice but the problem of poor fit persists, with many wearing ill-fitting shoes. Footwear advice for problematic feet lacks solid evidence and relies heavily on individual practitioners, limiting effectiveness. While protecting and adorning feet across societies, footwear’s past exclusion and present universality reveal tensions between fashion and function. Ongoing improvements in marrying style with biomechanical optimisation can promote foot health for all. 

Characteristics like toe box width, sole hardness, and heel height influence pain. Habitual constriction from shoes can cause long-term foot deterioration. Though essential for function and identity, the style and fit of Western footwear accelerate deformity and pain. Narrow toe boxes restrict forefoot motion while fastenings limit metatarsal expansion, increasing stress. Proper fit is disregarded, with shoes often too narrow. Therapeutic footwear is shunned for aesthetics despite its benefits. Choices are influenced by fashion, identity, activity, and fit. Given links between shoe characteristics and pathology, understanding footwear selection reasoning in those with pain can enable effective rehabilitation. Currently, the connections between foot pathologies and everyday footwear choices are poorly understood. We use interdisciplinary methods to investigate these links.  

Our work on young women’s footwear revealed purchases were driven more by activity needs, style, and self-image than long-term foot health. Research comparing older adults’ preferred shoes to off-the-shelf medical-grade shoes found that medical shoes reduced dorsal foot pressures and discomfort versus non-medical shoes. This demonstrated that medical-grade shoes can provide benefits over regular shoes and serve as a viable alternative to custom prescription footwear. Overall, our studies have shed light on factors influencing footwear selection across generations and quantified impacts on biomechanics and perceived comfort. The findings highlight opportunities to promote foot-health-conscious choices through education and improved retail options catering to activity demands without compromising well-being.  

Ongoing work will further elucidate footwear decision motivations and effects to guide evidence-based recommendations. 

Current Projects

Children’s stability therapeutic footwear

Mobility impairment encompasses various neurological, musculoskeletal, and combined conditions that lead to moderate to severe disability in...

Optimise Ankle Foot Orthosis Design

The overall aim of this program of work is to transform the arbitrary process for prescribing and designing rigid Ankle-Foot Orthoses (AFOs) into a scientific

Socio-Cultural Needs of Amputees

We have been involved in a project to map user needs for a functional prosthetic knee joint from a sociocultural perspective in low-resource global settings. 80% of amputees

Footwear assessment tool

Research shows footwear plays a major role in foot pain development, yet clinical assessment remains inconsistent due to limited guidance. To promote healthier choices through education, health professionals need standardized

Impact of Trade Barriers

Mobility assistive technology is difficult to access in developing countries, particularly in rural areas, where there are significant institutional voids. Institutional voids refer to underdeveloped political and economic

Novel Non-Pneumatic Wheelchair Tyres

Manual wheelchairs are essential assistive technology devices for individuals with reduced mobility, yet research focused on optimising their performance remains scarce.

Previous Projects

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of prosthetic and orthotic interventions

Approximately 100 million people globally require prosthetic or orthotic interventions. Our work examined such interventions to inform policy development, as various organizations have advocated their societal value yet limited

Effects of Foot Orthotics on Kinematics and Kinetics

Foot orthoses (FO) are commonly used to treat lower limb problems, though the exact mechanisms of how they work are not fully understood and seem largely anecdotal. Our research program examined the performance variations in custom FOs and the influence of inter...

Ankle Foot Orthoses-Footwear Combinations

The overall aim of this program of work is to transform the arbitrary process for prescribing and designing rigid Ankle-Foot Orthoses (AFOs) into a scientific, standardised methodology that maximises clinical and cost-effectiveness. To accomplish this, we will collaborate with

The relationship between arch height and foot length: Implications for size grading

Hill M, Naemi R, Branthwaite H, Chockalingam N. Appl Ergon. 2017 Mar;59(Pt A):243-250. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.08.012. Epub 2016 Sep 14.

CBRT Staffordshire University