Relationships between sole form values including floating toes and footwear and joint pain in athletes

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K11321
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 59020:Sports sciences-related
• Research Institution: Niigata University of Health and Welfare
• Principal Investigator: Sato Toshiro 新潟医療福祉大学, 健康科学部, 教授 (80567222)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 出村 慎一 金沢大学, 人間社会研究域, 客員研究員 (20155485) ; 長澤 吉則 京都薬科大学, 薬学部, 准教授 (40299780) ; 浮田 咲子 関東学院大学, 教育学部, 教授 (90461764) ; 青木 宏樹 福井工業高等専門学校, 一般科目(自然系), 准教授 (90622564)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 浮き趾 / 運動競技選手 / 足裏形態

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to develop a simple and rational measurement method of floating toes and sole form, and to clarify their states in athletes and the relationships between them and footwear and pains of body joints.
After developing the measurement method (problem 1) and survey form (problem 2), we measured floating toes and sole of track and field athletes (problem 3) and ball players (problem 4) with wearing shoes, and athletes (problem 5) without wearing shoes, and compared floating toes and sole form values (problem 6) among different-events athletes in addition to examining relationships between them and shoes and joint-pains(problem 7).
Although we could not recruit enough subjects due to the impact of the COVID-19 infection, we resolved problems 1 and 2, and continue to examine the other problems. We plan to successively publish the findings in the near future.

Free Research Field

健康体力学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、足裏画像をスキャナーでパソコンに取り込み、パソコン上の足裏画像の各計測点をカーソルで順次ポイントすることにより、足裏形態値や浮き趾高を自動計測できる器具を新規に開発した。この器具を利用し、シューズを履く運動選手と履かない運動選手の足裏形態と浮き趾を測定し、各運動選手の足裏形態と浮き趾の特徴及びそれらと各身体関節の痛みや病的足趾変形との関係を検討した。測定法は確立しており、今後、より多くの被験者を対象とした分析から貴重な知見が得られるであろう。