Science & Tech · Gadgets & EVs · 3 hrs ago
Foot-stiffening socks lowered the energy cost of walking in a small study
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin developed socks that stiffen the foot using three tight knitted bands around its ball.
In a study of 12 adults, 10 used less energy walking in the new socks than in regular socks.
The reduction was about 2 per cent, which the researchers compared with the effect of an average person losing 2 kilograms.
The socks still let the toes bend and the arch move, unlike some stiff-soled footwear, which can restrict foot movement.
The study tested walking, not running, so claims that the socks could improve race times remain estimates rather than demonstrated results.
The researchers say the design may help people with less-shaped feet, but that possibility has not been tested.
The socks’ applications remain untested, and the researchers have a sponsored research agreement with New Balance to commercialise them.
A small study found foot-stiffening socks reduced the energy cost of walking in 10 of 12 participants.
The reduction was 2 per cent compared with control socks, according to researchers Owen Beck and Hui Tang.
The socks have three tightly knitted bands around the ball of the foot and apply 24 times more pressure than regular socks.
The researchers say the socks may make walking and running more economical, but their practical applications have yet to be tested.
Beck and Tang have a sponsored research agreement with New Balance to commercialise the socks.
- Who
- Researchers Owen Beck and Hui Tang at the University of Texas at Austin tested the socks on 12 adults.
- What
- Socks designed to stiffen the feet reduced walking energy expenditure in 10 of the 12 participants.
- When
- Not stated.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- The socks are designed to stiffen the foot while allowing the toes to flex and the arch to recoil.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Researchers tried to reduce walking and running effort with shoes featuring stiffer midsoles or inserts, but those attempts failed.
Beck and Tang turned to socks and developed a design with three knitted bands around the ball of the foot.
Researchers tested the socks on 12 adults as they walked, including on a treadmill.
- Participants
- 12 adults with no known health conditions
- Result
- Energy expenditure was 2 per cent lower than with control socks in 10 of 12 participants
- Sock design
- Three 1-millimetre-wide bands knitted around a 30-millimetre-wide region
- Pressure
- 24 times more pressure on the feet than regular control socks
- Research institution
- University of Texas at Austin
What people are saying
Reducing the whole-body metabolic rate means we have better walking endurance, we sweat less during hot days and we can walk faster for the same effort [that we would use] using commercially available socks.
Our back-of-the-envelope estimates suggest that wrapping the foot in the new socks could improve marathon performance by 1 to 2 minutes,
The team’s clever insight was that those earlier attempts [with shoes] also stopped the foot moving when it needs to, right at the end of the step.