Effects of wearing athletic shoes, five-toed shoes, and standing barefoot on balance performance in young adults.

Objective: Almost all research using participants wearing barefoot-style shoes study elite runners or have participants with a history of barefoot style shoe training run on a treadmill when shod or barefoot. Wearing barefoot-style shoes is suggested as a method of transition between shod and barefoot running. Static and dynamic balance exercises also are recommended. However, little information is available on the effects five-toed barefoot style shoes have on static balance. The purpose of this study was to examine balance of subjects barefoot, wearing Vibram FiveFingers™ barefoot-style shoes, and regular athletic shoes with eyes closed when using the Biodex Balance System-SD™.

Methods: This was a repeated measures study. Methods: Forty nine participants aged 18-30 years without lower extremity injury or experience wearing barefoot-style shoes were tested for static balance on the Biodex Stability System™ with their eyes closed while wearing Vibram FiveFingers™, athletic shoes, or barefoot. Three trials of 10 seconds for each footwear type were completed. Repeated measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni's correction was used to analyze the degrees of sway in the anterior-posterior and medial lateral directions. An overall stability index was also calculated by the Biodex.

Results: For anterior-posterior and overall indices, differences were found between all conditions. Participants wearing athletic shoes demonstrated the smallest anterior-posterior stability index (least sway) and spent the most time in the innermost concentric circular zone. Medial-lateral indices were not different for any condition.

Conclusions: Wearing Vibram FiveFingers™ provided better overall and anterior-posterior static balance than going barefoot. While differences between Vibram FiveFingers™ and barefoot are significant, results may reflect statistical significance rather than any clinical difference in young, uninjured individuals. Conclusions: It would appear that Vibram FiveFingers™ mimic going barefoot and may be a bridge for exercising in preparation for barefoot exercise. Methods: 3B.