Do foot type classifications differ between male and female netball players? A cluster analysis

Maddison M. Kirk, Jessica A. Dobson, Joshua P.M. Mattock, Celeste E. Coltman, Julie R. Steele

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We must better understand the foot type classifications of netball players to develop sex and size-specific shoe lasts. Five hundred and two representative-level netball players (n = 251 male; n = 251 female) had their feet three-dimensionally scanned. A validated MATLAB code was used to extract six different foot measurements from these scans automatically. We then used a two-step cluster analysis and chi-squared tests to classify foot types and determine the effect of sex on each cluster, respectively. Five foot types were identified (Extra long-and-wide, Long-and-wide, Flat, Tapered and Short-and-narrow), with sex significantly affecting foot type classification. The feet of players wearing smaller shoe sizes were often Short-and-narrow and Tapered, whereas the feet of players wearing larger sizes tended to be more Extra long-and-wide and Long-and-wide. These results highlight that netball players have a wide variety of foot types; manufacturers should use these data to develop future grading systems to improve the fit and functionality of netball-specific footwear.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-10
Number of pages10
JournalErgonomics
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - Apr 2024

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