If you work in a dangerous environment that could pose a threat to your feet, then it’s essential that you wear footwear that offers protection. protective soles for shoes are specially designed and created to prevent injuries that can be caused by heavy equipment or materials falling onto the feet.
They have internal elements like steel toecaps to protect the toes and metal or plastic anti-penetration inserts to reduce the risk of puncture wounds.
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Preventing Foot Injuries and Pain
The protective soles for shoes are the foundation of the body, and as such, they absorb a lot of pressure during strenuous activity. Each foot contains 26 bones, 19 muscles and 107 ligaments, and they support up to one million pounds of force during exercise. Foot injuries can keep athletes, active individuals and young, lively children from participating in the physical activities they love.
To prevent sports-related foot injuries, hydration is key. In addition, it is important to stretch and warm up before engaging in a new exercise activity. This will help to loosen and prepare the many muscles and joints in the feet and ankles for exercise.
Taking note of the surface you are exercising on can also prevent injury. Whether you are running, training on the trail or frolicking on the beach, uneven surfaces can increase your risk of injury. To help prevent this, be sure to cross-train and exercise on different types of terrain. This will reduce the amount of repetitive stress on certain muscles and tendons, which can lead to overuse injuries.
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To achieve this, a methodology enabling shoe customization for comfort improvement was proposed and assessed. This consists of incorporating 3D printed graded density inserts into the critical pressure zones of conventional insoles, such as the heel. The quality of these protective soles for shoes was analyzed through compression tests, using different printing filling densities. The results showed that the inserted structures presented different mechanical properties, depending on their printing filling density. In addition, the assessment of the users indicated that they preferred the prototype slippers with inserts A to D, valuing their softness and their impact absorption capacity.
