Effect of recommended footwear fit upon in‐shoe pressures in feet with diabetes—An exploratory study
Authors' conclusion
This exploratory study suggests that larger toe gaps may be associated with increased hallux plantar pressures, in some cases exceeding 200 kPa-a commonly cited threshold associated with increased DFU risk.
Study context
- Population
- People with diabetes walking at 1 m/s ± 5% in standardised footwear17 with data available
- Participants
- 25 people
- Comparison
- Toe gap 1.5-2.0 cm vs 1.0-1.5 cm vs 0.5-1.0 cm in standardised footwear
- Primary endpoint
- Mean in-shoe peak plantar pressures
Methodological detailsstandardised footwear, within-participant comparison of three toe gap ranges
- Standardised footwear
- Within-participant comparison of three toe gap ranges
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Mean right hallux in-shoe peak plantar pressure
P = 0.03
Further findings
Habitual footwear fit
- More three-quarters of participants wore habitual footwear of incorrect length
- Almost half wore incorrect width
Original publication
Effect of recommended footwear fit upon in‐shoe pressures in feet with diabetes—An exploratory study. Diabet Med. Published 7 July 2026. doi:10.
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