02/01/2016    

QUERIES (BIOMECHANICS)

Query: Formula for Ideal Flex Point of a Shoe?

 

Is there a set biomechanical formula that manufacturers use (or should use) to determine the best point for a shoe to flex at the metatarsal head level? Has our profession ever made recommendations to shoe manufacturers with respect to this?

 

Lloyd Nesbitt, DPM, Toronto, Canada

 

Editor's Comment: This topic was addressed in U.S. Patent #4,262,435 (1979) by  Drs. Barry Block and Stanley Beekman.

Other messages in this thread:

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09/24/2024    

QUERIES (BIOMECHANICS)

Query: Determining the Highest Point of the Arch (HPA)

 

I would like some to hear comments regarding where the highest point of the arch (HPA) exists relative to the heel and forefoot. I take it that it would be where the navicular tuberosity lies, but this may not be the case; does anyone know this? Now I realize that there is an infinite variation of the actual height of the arch at HPA, but where is this? If you were to draw a line from the medial 1st met head to the medial heel on a footprint (say a Harris mat), where (approximately) would be the HPA? I have had no success in finding biomechanical literature on this subject. Is there some formula one might adapt from autopsy findings?  

 

Jim Fisher, DPM, Eureka, CA

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09/18/2014    

QUERIES (BIOMECHANICS)

Query: Biomechanical Evidence That Rocker Shoes Cause Ankle injuries?

 

I was asked recently if there is biomechanical evidence that the rocker shoes that were advertised for shaping the rear end are actually dangerous to wear in that they make it easier to suffer an ankle injury, etc. because they are less stable than a normal workout shoe. Any comments?

 

Ivar E. Roth DPM,MPH, Newport Beach, CA