Intra- and inter-foot coordination in quiet standing: footwear and posture effects

Intra-foot coordination between center of pressure (COP) of the ball and heel of the foot in single leg standing and inter-foot coordination of the right and left foot during bipedal stance was examined as a function of postural stance (two legs, one leg, and toe postures), footwear (barefoot, different area based high heel shoes) and postural training (ballet group and regular exercising group). Young adult females performed three 20s trials in each postural condition. In general, the traditional variability measures of COPnet motion increased under the less stable postural support conditions and ballet dancers had better balance in single leg standing. Regularity analysis revealed a negative relation between the variability of foot coupling (both intra- and inter-foot) and the standard deviation of COPnet that was mediated by the interaction of shoe support and postural stance. The findings show that shoe support and postural stance modulate collective postural motion (COPnet) through the adaptability of the coupling of foot dynamics.