title: Comparison of female foot morphology and last design in athletic footwear--are men's lasts appropriate for women?
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between female feet and last design. Four hundred twenty-four feet and four men's running shoe lasts (U.S. women 6.0-9.5), which also are used for the manufacturing of women's shoes, were scanned in three dimensions. Six foot measures were quantified. Different foot types were classified using a cluster analysis. Comparisons were made between last measures and averaged as well as foot type specific foot measures. Differences in width measures between lasts and foot types vary substantially (0-9 mm). Length grading is similar for lasts and feet (differences < 1mm). Width grading is larger in lasts in comparison with average grading in feet (3.5-5.9 mm). Last design and grading should account for the sex-specific allometry in foot measures. The use of down-graded men's lasts for women's shoes has to be questioned. Therefore, sex-specific reference measures and wear tests should incorporate different foot types in different sizes to allow suitable implications for a proper design and grading of lasts.
authors.affiliation: Medical Clinic, Department of Sports Medicine, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. inga.krauss@med.uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valiant
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horstmann
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grau
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012420:Running; D012737:Sex Factors; D012775:Shoes; D019876:Sports Equipment; D055815:Young Adult