Human movement analysis in evaluation of the risk of falls in younger and older workers while wearing protective footwear

• Movement analysis showed differences in gait between age workers using protective footwear.
• Gait analysis is not so sensitive to specify which design footwear leads to a higher risk of falls in older workers.
• Study gives only information on differences in gait between younger and older workers, wearing the protective footwear.

The objective of the work was to determine whether human movement analysis would reveal differences between younger and older workers using two types of protective footwear. The study group was composed of 40 males (20 younger and 20 older subjects). Two types of protective footwear differing in terms of construction were selected: sandal-like footwear with a low shoe collar (type A) and ankle boots with a high collar and ankle support (type B). The subjects performed simple activities, such as walking on a treadmill and climbing stairs. Measurements involved angles at the right and left knee, hip, and talocrural joints. It was found that gait analysis is not sufficiently sensitive to determine which protective footwear construction leads to a greater risk of falling in younger and older workers. The tests did provide information concerning differences in gait biomechanics between younger and older subjects wearing protective footwear.