Evaluation of the rule-of-thumb

2016 academic paper by Bettina Barisch-Fritz, Clemens Plank, and Stefan Grau

Full Title: “Evaluation of the rule-of-thumb: calculation of the toe allowance for developing feet”

published in Footwear Science, 2016

Notes

• can’t get feedback on toe space from children
• many English adults with foot problems
• dramatic increase in hallux valgus after World War II
• AKA64-WMS recommends 12 millimeters of toe allowance
• toe allowance
  1. space for growth
  2. space for forward movement in the shoe
  3. loss of space from vamp and sole creasing
• no prior public studies
• 2,555 students from 15 German schools, between 6 and 16
• DynaScan4D for point clouds
• calculated toe allowance from scans:
  1. “foot extension”
  2. “walking advance”
  3. “growth rate”
• foot length stops growing:
  • boys after 15 years
  • girls after 13 years
• highest growth rate
  • 7-8 years boys and girls
  • 10-12 years boys only
• recommend giving toe allowance for 90th percentile
  • 9.8 mm girls
  • 11.5 mm boys
  • smaller than previously assumed
• longer feet don’t need more toe room
  • walking advance and foot extension comparable across foot lengths
  • growth rate decreased with longer foot length
• calculated toe allowances were smaller than all rules of thumb recommended
• allowance can be the same for all shoe sizes
• no significant difference between genders