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Got new safety shoes – was able to stop taking painkillers
Researchers wanted to create better footwear for workers. The new safety shoes adapt to the user, providing greater comfort and reducing physical strain.
Protective footwear should keep feet and toes safe against impacts and crushing injuries, corrosive chemicals, and punctures from sharp objects.
Workers should be able to step on nails and metal spikes without risking injury.
At the same time, people who spend long workdays standing or kneeling should not have to suffer from aching hips and knees because of stiff and rigid footwear.
Until now, the challenge has been to find the balance between safety and comfort.
A revolutionary new safety shoe concept developed by researchers has fundamentally changed the way the shoes are produced.
Many workers experience musculoskeletal problems
Users can select footwear according to their weight class, the flexibility they want, and the tasks they have to perform.
“Many people who have jobs where they walk a lot on hard surfaces develop musculoskeletal disorders. Shoes are an important contributor to this problem. Our goal is to create a shoe that provides better foot health,” says Tore Christian Storholmen.
He is an industrial designer and researcher at SINTEF.
In recent years, he has worked closely with manufacturers, users, and industry partners in the search for better footwear for workers.
The project, called Lightfoot, is now delivering encouraging results.
Unique solution for nail protection
The result is a protective shoe with a softer sole that minimises strain on the heel and provides better space for the toes when kneeling.
“The classic way to make shoes has been to inject foam into a mould that connects the outsole to the finished upper of the shoe,” says Storholmen.
The injected material forms the part of the shoe you stand on, known as the midsole.
The problem has been that the nail protection needs to be inserted on top of this midsole.
It reduced comfort
This layer is typically made from a thick, strong textile material that rests on top of the injected foam.
"That compromises comfort,” says Storholmen.
A traditional insole is then placed on top of the nail protection.
“But it’s pretty thin. We realised that if we were going to be able to do something about the shock absorption and ergonomics, we had to change the entire production method,” says Storholmen.
Better shock absorption
The researchers instead chose to place the nail protection in the bottom of the shoe. They removed the foam layer, left the shoe an empty shell, and introduced replaceable midsoles with different degrees of firmness.
"These are much thicker than traditional insoles, as much as three centimetres at the heel. This way we move the soft materials closer to the foot, and people can choose the sole based on their own weight class and needs,” says Storholmen.
Tests show that the new shoe provides better shock absorption while walking.
An analysis of 20,000 measurements showed that the shoe improved shock absorption during heel strike in normal walking when compared with a representative selection of established safety footwear models on the market today, including the supplier’s own reference model.
Several tonnes less total load on the body
“We achieved a significant reduction in heel forces and significantly better foot stability. The forces acting on the heel have been reduced by over six per cent,” says Storholmen.
Six per cent might not sound like much, but for a person weighing 80 kilograms, it corresponds to 5 kilogramss less load for every single step they take.
Over the course of a workday, this can amount to several tonnes less total load on the body.
20,000 steps a day
The researchers also had personnel working in offshore and land-based industries try out the shoes over several months. The feedback confirms the laboratory findings, according to Storholmen.
“Our trial users have reported improved comfort. One user said that for the first time in over ten years he was able to stop taking painkillers due to the pain in his knees and joints,” he says.
At the same time, Storholmen emphasises that the connection between footwear, ergonomics, and musculoskeletal disorders is complex.
“We’re talking about quite complex causes, and we haven’t yet done long-term studies. But these are people who walk between 10,000 and 20,000 steps a day, and good safety footwear can reduce the impact load. We're already seeing that it's possible to reduce the load, and over time this will have an impact,” the researcher explains.
The manufacturer had to rethink everything
“We’ve collaborated closely with the manufacturer in Italy, who has had to completely rethink the production method. They have been producing safety shoes for 40 years and say they have never seen anyone tinker with so many elements at once,” says Storholmen.
He stresses that the results of the project are primarily based on a data-driven approach, with SINTEF contributing research methodology.
“In addition, this project would not have been possible if we had worked in a less interdisciplinary fashion than we do. We have involved researchers in physiology, biomechanics, industrial design, and data analysis. This approach is key when working with an industry that is as set in its ways as this one. You have to see things from different perspectives to find solutions,” says Storholmen.
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Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
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