The Effects of Minimal Shoes in Older People at Risk of Falls: The Feetback Shoe Study (FSS)

July 3, 2020 updated by: Tomasz Cudejko, University of Liverpool

Preventing Falls in Older People Using an Innovative Connected Shoe: Development & Biomechanics Study.

A third of people over 65, and half of people over 80, fall at least once a year. Falls are the most common cause of death from injury in the over 65s and result in a significant financial burden on the whole society. Shoes directly influence balance, gait, and the subsequent risk of slips, trips and falls by altering somatosensory feedback to the foot and ankle. Minimal shoes, that is shoes lacking a firm heel cup, a rigid sole or longitudinal arch support, have shown advantages in strengthening muscles and improving balance as compared to conventional shoes. However, limited research has studied the effect of minimal shoe in older people at risk of falls. The aim of the project will be to assess the effects of minimal shoes in older people at risk of falls, compared to conventional shoes and barefoot.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Study participants will attend a one-day testing session at the Movement Laboratory, University of Liverpool. Participants will be subjected to several standing and walking tests while wearing three types of footwear in a randomised order: (i) a minimal shoe, (ii) a conventional shoe, and (iii) barefoot. Participants' physical function, stability during standing and walking and an activity of lower leg muscles will be assessed in each of those three footwear conditions. Participants will also be asked about perceptions of footwear, regarding a minimal shoe and a conventional shoe. At the end of assessments, participants will be asked to complete several walking bouts while wearing a minimal shoe with "smart" shoe insoles, to determine "smart" insoles' validity in obtaining gait characteristics against a gold standard measure. Finally, those participants who volunteer to take part in a two-week follow-up study, will be asked to wear the minimal shoes with "smart" insoles during daily life for two weeks, After two weeks, they will be asked to fill in an online questionnaire asking them about total time they used the minimal shoes and insoles and about how satisfied they were with them.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Merseyside
      • Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, L8 0TL
        • University of Liverpool

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Community-dwelling older adults

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age: ≥ 60 years old

  • One of the vulnerability criteria for risk falls:

    (i) ≥ 1 self-reported falls after the age of 60; (ii) balance impairment as indicated by a score <45 on the Berg Balance Scale, by a score >2 on the simplified Tinetti Gait & Balance test or via any other validated and reliable clinical instrument used at the recruitment site; (iii) one or two criteria for physical frailty

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Macro-vascular symptoms (angina, stroke or a peripheral vascular disease)
  • Neuromuscular diseases (Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer Disease or Parkinson Disease)
  • Diabetes
  • Use of a walking aid (cane or walker)
  • Ankle, knee, hip surgery ≤ 3 months
  • Pain in the lower extremities of ≥ 8 on the numeric rating scale

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Older people at risk of falls
Other: Minimal shoes
A minimal shoe (Vivobarefoot Ltd., London, UK) will be used.
Other: Standardised conventional shoes
The Go Walk 4.0-Pursuit shoe for women (Skechers USA, Inc.) and the Superior 2.0-Jeveno shoe for men (Skechers USA, Inc) will be used.
Other: Barefoot
Participants will conduct the assessments barefoot.
Other: "Smart" shoe insoles
Arion pressure-measuring insoles (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) will be used in the study.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Timed Up and Go test
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Time (in seconds) to complete the Timed Up and Go test
First day of joining the study
Star Excursion Balance Test
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Reach (in centimetres) to achieve during the Star Excursion Balance Test
First day of joining the study
Postural stability
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Anterior-Posterior and latero-medial movement (in centimetres) of the centre of pressure
First day of joining the study
Dynamic stability
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Variability (standard deviations) of spatio-temporal gait characteristics
First day of joining the study
Muscle activity
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Electromyography activity for selected lower leg muscles and expressed in millivolts
First day of joining the study
Perceived attractiveness
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Scored on a 100-millimetres (mm) visual analogue scale with 0 mm being "extremely unattractive" and 100 mm being "extremely attractive"
First day of joining the study
Perceived attractiveness for others
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Scored on a 100-millimetres (mm) visual analogue scale with 0 mm being "extremely unattractive for others" and 100 mm being "extremely attractive for others"
First day of joining the study
Perceived comfort
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Scored on a 100-millimetres (mm) visual analogue scale with 0 mm being "extremely uncomfortable" and 100 mm being "extremely comfortable"
First day of joining the study
Perceived weight
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Scored on a 100-millimetres (mm) visual analogue scale with 0 mm being "extremely light" and 100 mm being "extremely heavy"
First day of joining the study
Perceived fit
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Scored on a 100-millimetres (mm) visual analogue scale with 0 mm being "poorest fit possible" and 100 mm being "best fit possible"
First day of joining the study
Perceived ease of use
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Scored on a 100-millimetres (mm) visual analogue scale with 0 mm being "most difficult as possible" and 100 mm being "as easy as imaginable"
First day of joining the study
Perceived stability
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Scored on a 100-millimetres (mm) visual analogue scale with 0 mm being "extremely unstable" and 100 mm being "extremely stable"
First day of joining the study

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Validity of "smart" shoe insoles
Time Frame: First day of joining the study
Validity of Arion insoles against Qualisys Motion Capture System
First day of joining the study
Adherence to wearing minimal shoes in daily life
Time Frame: The assessment will be performed at 2 weeks
Adherence to wearing minimal shoes with "smart" shoe insoles assessed with an online questionnaire and expressed in total time in days and hours
The assessment will be performed at 2 weeks
Satisfaction of wearing minimal shoes in daily life
Time Frame: The assessment will be performed at 2 weeks
Satisfaction of wearing minimal shoes with "smart" shoe insoles assessed with an online questionnaire and expressed on a 5-point Likert scale, with the following levels: 1 - Very dissatisfied, 2 - dissatisfied, 3 - unsure, 4 - satisfied, 5 - Very satisfied.
The assessment will be performed at 2 weeks
Gait characteristics during daily life
Time Frame: The assessment will be performed at 2 weeks
Gait characteristics, assessed with "smart" shoe insoles, during activities of daily life and expressed in spatio-temporal metrics
The assessment will be performed at 2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Liverpool

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Kristiaan D'Août, PhD, University of Liverpool

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (ACTUAL)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 20, 2019

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 1, 2020

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 12, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 12, 2019

First Posted (ACTUAL)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 14, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 7, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 3, 2020

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 4151

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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