ABSTRACT
Plantar pressure analysis is important to understand the interactions between the shoe and the plantar surface. The aim of this study was to compare three different types of shoes: a model perceived as biomechanically superior (BS), a subject’s regular use shoe (OS) and a neutral footwear model (NS), in terms of peak plantar pressure and maximum contact area. When compared with the NS, the BS and OS models presented lower peak plantar pressure and higher maximum contact area values, in a significant number of foot regions. When compared to each other, lower peak plantar pressures were observed in the OS central forefoot and lateral hindfoot regions. In conclusion, a biomechanically superior model tends to perform better than a neutral shoe, but a shoe adapted to the subject’s foot may be as good, or even better, than a biomechanically superior one, in terms of plantar pressure distribution.
