The effects of usual footwear on balance amongst elderly women attending a day hospital.

OBJECTIVE to examine the effects of footwear on balance in a sample of older women attending a day hospital. DESIGN this was a crossover trial with a quasi-randomised allocation. SETTING assessments took place in the geriatric day hospital. SUBJECTS a cohort of 100 older women aged 60 years and over attending a day hospital. METHODS demographic data and a brief falls history were recorded. Participant's footwear was assessed using a footwear assessment form. A Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was completed under two conditions--shoes on and shoes off with order counter-balanced. RESULTS the mean BBS was 39.07 (SD 9.14) with shoes on and 36.54 (SD 10.39) with shoes off (P < 0.0001). Balance scores were significantly higher with shoes on for 10 of the 14 Berg subcategories. Lower barefoot BBS scores were associated with a greater beneficial effect of footwear on balance (P < 0.001). Shoe characteristics were not associated with change in the BBS score. CONCLUSIONS Wearing their own footwear significantly improved participants' balance compared to being barefoot. The greatest benefit of footwear was seen in those with the poorest balance. Further studies should investigate whether particular types of footwear are associated with greater benefit.