Preliminary Study of Wide Base-of-Support Footwear in Preventing Falls Caused by Lateral Slip during Walking

Abstract

The present preliminary study examined whether an increase in the lateral width of footwear (base-of-support width) can reduce the risk of falling caused by induced lateral slip while turning on slippery surfaces. Wide base-of-support (BOS) footwear was designed and manufactured, with lateral widening achieved by fixing a BOS extension, using a planar linkage of 70-mm width on the lateral side of normal BOS footwear. Gait trials were conducted on 16 young healthy male adults. Subjects were instructed to walk in a straight line and to turn 60° to the right on a stainless steel floor covered with glycerol solution. As compared with the normal BOS footwear, the wide BOS footwear reduced the frequency of trials in which fall occurred due to lateral slip by up to 67% and the slip distance and slip velocity of the supporting foot were reduced by up to 40% and 35%, respectively. The results demonstrated the efficacy of increased lateral BOS width in reducing the risk of fall caused by induced lateral slip.