Understanding the impact of footwear on young children's gait

This study aims to investigate the acute impact of different footwear and footwear features on gait of 2, 3 and 4 year old children. These exposures include boots, sandals, and runners in a soft sole and hard sole to determine the differences between each of the footwear and barefoot as measured on the GAITRite ('Registered Trademark) system. A selection of children will also wear a Trigno EMG Systems for Electromyography (EMG) sensor at the lateral gastrocnemius, biceps femoris and lateral branch of the rectus femoris. Shoes were selected as commonly wore footwear by children during the different seasons and play. All shoes will have the same features for each participant. The runners have a firm heel counter, and velcro fasteners. The boots are above the ankle, have a zip at the inside and elastic on the outside to assist in fitting and the sandals have velcro strap fixture, enclosed heel and open toe. Seven conditions will be tested- 1. Barefoot (no footwear) 2. Sandals (Hard sole) 3. Sandals (Soft sole) , 4. Runners (Hard sole), 5. Runners (Soft soles), 6 Boots (Hard sole) and 7. Boot (Soft sole), will be used and the immediate effect on gait will be measured. Each condition consists of three walking trials and three running trials along the GaitRite mat, which is four (4) metres in length. During recording, if the initial or final contact is a partial foot fall, due to the potential for the foot to strike the mat in a partial sensor area, this data will be excluded. All other contacts within the recording, will be recorded for analysis. A one metre space will be provided at each end of the mat to allow the children to accelerate and decelerate as required. Conditions are as follows: Condition 1: After familiarisation, the child will be asked to remove their footwear and walk along the GAITRite('Registered Trademark) mat at their preferred pace for 3 passes. Then the child will be asked to run as fast as they can for three passes. Conditions 2-7: The children will be placed in socks and the footwear of interest while walking along the GAITRite('Registered Trademark) mat. The child will then repeat the trial running at their select selected fastest. A randomization procedure by use of a Latin square design will be employed for the seven conditions. Between each of these conditions, there is not anticipated to be a washout period and there will be 5 minutes between each testing period. I.e.: Condition 1, Condition 2, Condition 3, Condition 4, Condition 5, Condition 6, Condition 7 Condition 2, Condition 3, Condition 4, Condition 5, Condition 6, Condition 7, Condition 1 Condition 3, Condition 4, Condition 5, Condition 6, Condition 7 Condition 1, Condition 2 etc The first five children in each age group will wear the Trigno surface EMG during testing.