Biomechanical assessment of work footwear for international airline personnel.

Heel pain is a major musculoskeletal condition and it's commonly experienced by air hostesses due to the time spent standing and walking. A new method of biomechanical assessment was performed in air hostesses and airport staff, while wearing work footwear. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the performance and comfort of the work footwear in air hostesses and airport staff by analyzing the pattern of the plantar pressure. A comparative study was carried out in nineteen females in three different conditions: a) barefoot, b) wearing their work footwear and c) wearing a new design of comfortable work footwear. Average pressure, body barycenter, foot barycenters and points of maximum pressure under the foot were collected using the pressure platform EPS/R1 from LorAn Engineering Inc. The results showed high average pressure and lowest contact area under the work footwear; foot biomechanical alterations were also found in the majority of the subjects due to the shape and the design of the shoe. This method of biomechanical evaluation on air hostesses and airport staff have shown that a new design of an ergonomic shoe is required in order to prevent heel pain and biomechanical deformities, with attenuation of heel peak plantar pressure.