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Abstract
The purposes of this study were: (a) to determine whether subjects are able to distinguish
between differences in footwear with respect to footwear comfort; and (b) to determine
how reliably footwear comfort can be assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS)
and a protocol including a control condition during running. Intraclass correlation
coefficients (ICCs) between comfort ratings for repeated conditions were high (ICC
= 0.799). Differences in comfort ratings between the insert conditions were significant.
A paired t-test revealed a significant difference in overall comfort ratings for the
control insert when tested after the soft insert compared to when tested after the
hard insert (P = 0.008). The results of this study showed that VASs provide a reliable
measure to assess footwear comfort during running under the conditions that: (a) a
control condition is included; and (b) the average comfort rating of sessions 4-6
is used.
Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.