What’s the Impact of Safety Footwear on Workers Concerning Foot-Related Problems? A Systematic Review
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Search Strategy and Selection Criteria
2.2. Study Selection and Data Collection
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- Participants: patients’ worker demographic characteristics (number of patients, age, and gender);
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- Exposure: SF used during the job;
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- Comparisons: type of SF and foot-related problems (foot pain and skin lesions);
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- Outcomes: discomfort, fit, and subjective sensations reported by patients;
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- Study design: randomised controlled trial (RCT), observational study, or descriptive study.
2.3. Quality Assessment
2.4. Data Synthesis and Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Quality Assessment
3.2. Population
3.3. Discomfort
3.4. Pain
3.5. Foot Skin Lesion
3.6. Safety Footwear Type and Foot Problems
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Author—Years | Study Design | Cases | Age | Gender (M/F) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Copper AW et al.—2021 [6] | Question survey | 207 workers of wine industry | / | / |
Janson D et al.—2021 [7] | Question survey | 632 workers from different industry | 45–54 | 520/102 |
Marr SJ et al.—1993 [11] | Question survey | 321 workers from different industry | 30–49 | 224/97 |
Dobson JA et al.—2018 [14] | Question survey | 357 underground coal miners | 39.1 ± 10.6 | 355/2 |
Dobson JA et al.—2017 [15] | Question survey | 358 underground coal miners | 39.1 ± 10.7 | 355/3 |
Dobson JA et al.—2020 [16] | Comparative study | 20 males (11 underground coal miners; 9 trades workers) | 36 ± 13.8 | 20/0 |
Brans R. et al.—2023 [9] | Prospective cohort study | 168 patients with work-related skin diseases or foot dermatoses using SF | / | / |
Total | 2063 | 1474/204 |
Author | Representativeness of Cases | Selection of Controls | Ascertainment of Exposure | Outcome of Interest Was Not Present at Start of Study | Comparability | Assessment of Outcome | Follow-Up Long Enough | Adequacy of Follow-Up | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Copper AW et al.—2021 [6] | ★ | - | ★ | - | ★ | - | - | - | 3★ |
Janson D et al.—2021 [7] | ★ | ★ | - | - | - | - | - | 2★ | |
Marr SJ et al.—1993 [11] | ★ | - | ★ | - | - | - | - | - | 2★ |
Dobson JA et al.—2018 [14] | ★ | - | ★ | - | - | - | - | - | 2★ |
Dobson JA et al.—2017 [15] | ★ | - | ★ | - | ★ | - | - | - | 3★ |
Dobson JA et al.—2020 [16] | - | ★ | ★ | - | ★ | - | - | - | 3★ |
Brans R. et al.—2023 [9] | ★ | - | ★ | - | - | - | - | - | 2★ |
Author | Cases | Footwear Type (Shoes/Boots) | Results | Foot and Lower Limb pain | Foot Lesions | Discomfort (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Copper AW et al.—2021 [6] | 207 | Elastic sided safety boots (46%), high cut lace up safety boots (40%), Low-Mid cut safety shoes (8%) | Elastic sided safety boots were the most used and were associated with lower back, hip, leg, ankle, and foot pain. High cut lace up safety boots were associated with lower back, leg, ankle, heel, foot, toe pain. Low-Mid cut safety shoes were associated with hip pain. | Lower back pain (56%), foot pain (36.7%), knee pain (24.6%), leg pain (21.3%), ankle pain (17.9%), hip pain (15.5%), toe pain (13%) and heel pain (11.1%). If foot, toe and heel pain are combined to total foot pain, 60.8% of respondents experienced some type of foot pain. | / | Hot and heavy (>50%) |
Janson D et al.—2021 [7] | 632 | / | 60% of women and 45% of men found their SF less comfortable than their regular footwear. The users of SF accepted a level of discomfort in at least one area of the foot before deeming footwear ‘uncomfortable’. | / | / | 60% of women and 45% of men indicate that their SF is either very uncomfortable or not as comfortable. |
Marr SJ et al.—1993 [11] | 321 | safety shoes incorporating a steal toe cap | An extremely high percentage (91%) of subjects reported one or more foot problems, and most considered that the SF either caused the problem or adversely affected an existing foot condition. | Painful feet (49%) | Callouses (33%), hard nails (28%) and corns (27%). | Excessive heat (65%), inflexible soles (52%), weight (48%) and pressure from steel toe cap (47%). |
Dobson JA et al.—2018 [14] | 357 | Gumboot (66.3%), Leather lace-up boot (32.5%) | Underground coal miners were not satisfied with their current mining work boots, reporting a high incidence of foot problems and pain. Over half of the underground coal miners surveyed believed their work boots contributed to their lower limb pain and reported their work boots were uncomfortable. | Lower back pain (44.5%), foot pain (42.3%), knee pain (21.5%) and ankle pain (24.9%). | Foot problems in 55.3%: calluses (33.1%), dry skin (30.2%) and tinea (12.8%) being the most common complaints. | 82.4% indicated a work boot fit rating of ‘reasonable’ to ‘good’. |
Dobson JA et al.—2017 [15] | 358 | Gumboot (66.3%), Leather lace-up boot (32.5%) | Although leather lace-up boots positively influenced coal miners’ perceptions of support and fit provided by their work boots, lower back pain, foot pain and calluses are still frequently report irrespective of boot type. | No significant differences between the two boots regarding lower back, hip, knee, ankle, or foot pain prevalence. Significant differences regarding the type and location of foot problems and pain. | No significant differences between the two boots regarding calluses and blisters prevalence. | Leather lace-up boot wearers were more likely to rate their mining work boot comfort as “comfortable” when compared to gumboot wearers (59.6% vs. 27.1%), and <10% of leather lace-up boot wearers rate as “uncomfortable”. |
Dobson JA et al.—2020 [16] | 20 | Steel-capped safety boots = 4 work boot conditions: (1) a flexible shaft + stiff sole, (2) a stiff shaft + stiff sole, (3) a stiff shaft + flexible sole and (4) a flexible shaft + flexible sole | This study examined the impact of variations in shaft stiffness and sole flexibility on both perceived comfort and plantar pressures on a simulated uneven surface. While perceived comfort remained unaffected, the flexible shaft and stiff sole combination significantly influenced plantar pressures, and participants preferred boots with this configuration due to factors like fit, mobility, walking effort, and support. | / | / | Type flexible shaft + stiff sole boot was the “best boot” because of the perceived fit and ankle support, and because it was perceived to be comfortable and easy to walk in |
Brans R. et al.—2023 [9] | 168 | shoes/boots | A work-related foot dermatosis was likely in 26.0%. Out of these, foot eczema represents 93.3% of cases (based on subtypes: (1) Irritant Contact Dermatitis in 97.9%—in most cases, accompanied by atopic foot eczema; (2) allergic contact dermatitis in 53.8%; (3) hyperkeratotic eczema in 26.9%, psoriasis in 14.8%, and Tinea pedis in 3.8%. | / | Work-related foot dermatosis was significantly more often associated with itch, pain when walking and smelling feet. | The most common complaint about the occupational footwear was sweating (62.8%). |
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Arceri, A.; Mazzotti, A.; Liosi, S.G.; Zielli, S.O.; Artioli, E.; Golinelli, D.; Brognara, L.; Faldini, C. What’s the Impact of Safety Footwear on Workers Concerning Foot-Related Problems? A Systematic Review. Healthcare 2024, 12, 1522. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12151522
Arceri A, Mazzotti A, Liosi SG, Zielli SO, Artioli E, Golinelli D, Brognara L, Faldini C. What’s the Impact of Safety Footwear on Workers Concerning Foot-Related Problems? A Systematic Review. Healthcare. 2024; 12(15):1522. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12151522
Chicago/Turabian StyleArceri, Alberto, Antonio Mazzotti, Sofia Gaia Liosi, Simone Ottavio Zielli, Elena Artioli, Davide Golinelli, Lorenzo Brognara, and Cesare Faldini. 2024. "What’s the Impact of Safety Footwear on Workers Concerning Foot-Related Problems? A Systematic Review" Healthcare 12, no. 15: 1522. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12151522