Effects of Shoe-Lacing on Gait

Background Wearing shoes without retying the laces results in an ill-fitting shoe and causes the foot to move inside the shoe. Continuous walking in loose shoes can cause chronic physical discomfort in addition to foot problems.Research question What are the effects of shoe-wearing style on gait?Methods Twenty-one healthy adults were recruited as participants and were asked to wear their most frequently used shoes. Walking tests, covering a distance of 25 m, were conducted under six different conditions. Participants walked at a normal and then a fast pace while wearing their shoes in the following shoe-lacing conditions: usual, tight, and loose. Two motion sensors, capable of recording the three-dimensional acceleration and angular velocity, were placed on the upper trunk (Th6) and lower trunk (S2) of each participant. The evaluation indices used were walking velocity, step length, step width, gait cycle time, trunk movement, and harmonic ratio.Results When the participants walked at their normal pace, the trunk movement of Th6 (mediolateral – left-to-right sway) was significantly more pronounced in the loose lacing condition than in the usual and tight lacing conditions. When the participants walked at a fast pace, the looser lacing techniques decreased the walking velocity, step length, Th6 (vertical) trunk movement, and harmonic ratio of Th6 (anteroposterior) while increasing the step width (broader based gait).Significance This study clarified that in individuals preferring looser shoe-lacing techniques, adjustment of walking velocity, step length, trunk movement, and step width becomes necessary to maintain stability. Through these compensatory mechanisms, the body allocates certain physical resources to enable walking, which can cause fatigue if sustained over a long period. Therefore, we suggest that shoelaces should be reopened and retied each time the shoes are taken off and put back on, respectively, to conserve these resources.