The Effects of Minimalist Shoes on Plantar Intrinsic Foot Muscle Size
                    and Strength: A Systematic Review

Jennifer Xu; Susan A Saliba; Abbis H Jaffri

doi:10.1055/a-1908-8867

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2023; 44(05): 320-328
DOI: 10.1055/a-1908-8867

Review

The Effects of Minimalist Shoes on Plantar Intrinsic Foot Muscle Size and Strength: A Systematic Review

Jennifer Xu

¹Kinesiology, University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, Charlottesville, United States

,

Susan A Saliba

¹Kinesiology, University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, Charlottesville, United States

,

Abbis H Jaffri

²Physical Therapy, Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Omaha, United States

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Minimalist shoes are proposed to prevent injury and enhance performance by strengthening intrinsic foot muscles, yet there is little consensus on the effectiveness of minimalist shoes in increasing muscle strength or size. This systematic review assesses using minimalist shoes as an intervention on changes in plantar intrinsic foot muscle size and strength. PubMed, CINHAL, Scopus, and SPORT Discus were systematically searched for articles from January 2000 to March 2022. Studies were included if they had an intervention of at least 2 weeks with a control group and examined the effect of minimalist shoes on plantar intrinsic foot strength or size (either volume, cross-sectional area, or thickness). Nine studies were included. There were significant increases and percent changes in foot muscle strength, volume, cross-sectional area, and thickness. Strength increased between 9–57%, and size increased between 7.05–10.6%. Minimalist shoes may effectively increase intrinsic foot muscle size and strength in healthy individuals, and they may also be more convenient than implementing time-intensive physical therapy programs. Future research is needed to explore using minimalist shoes as an intervention in clinical populations who would benefit from increased IFM strength and function. It will also be vital to improve upon IFM assessment methods.

Key words

minimalist shoes - intrinsic foot muscles - toe flexor strength - running

Full Text

References

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