A Systematic Study Of The Impact Of Footwear On Gait Of Toddlers

Shoes are known to be direct contributing factor for foot ills. Approximately for two third of life of an individual, the feet are housed in footwear. Studies have shown that shoes are a contributing factor to the foot ills like corns and callus. Because footwear and fit are importantly involved in healthy foot growth in children, it is essential to devote special attention to the effects of footwear on foot especially during the early years of life when the feet are soft and moldable. The paper analyses the secondary research on development of feet among toddlers, function of footwear and the importance of shoes for healthy feet development. It also deliberates on different viewpoints of various researchers on bare feet versus shod condition being good for toddlers. The study compares foot size of toddlers to the inner lengths of footwear been worn by a sample of 20 urban Indian toddlers and the effect of wrong footwear on gait of toddlers. Scientific gait experiments using pressure plate scanners of 4 toddlers and video recording of gait of 10 toddlers, in shod and unshod condition, confirm that footwear affects the natural gait of toddlers. The researchers are able to study the impact of footwear on gait of toddlers and argue upon the detrimental effects of footwear.