Effects of shoe sole thickness on joint position sense

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of shoe sole thickness on joint position sense in the sagittal and frontal plane by determining the estimate angle error. Joint position sense was measured by manipulating angle and direction of a slope surface board (30 cm×30 cm×1.5 cm) to perform the movements of dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion and eversion. Sandwiching wooden wedges with pre-determined angles between 0 and 25° between the slope surface boards made the slope surface angles. Twenty healthy college male students were asked to estimate the angle and direction of movements under each of the shod conditions while standing on the slope surface board. Estimate angle error was calculated for each movement under all shod conditions. For all shod conditions, estimate angle error was the greatest for plantar flexion and inversion compared to dorsiflexion and eversion. Independent of shod condition, subjects had the most difficulty estimating plantar flexion and inversion movements.