Shoe Tread Wear Occurs Primarily during Early Stance and Precedes the Peak Required Coefficient of Friction

Worn shoes contribute to injuries caused by slip-and-fall accidents. The peak required coefficient of friction (RCOF) has been associated with tread wear rate. However, the temporal relationship between RCOF and shoe wear is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the contact region at the time of peak RCOF is consistent with the region of shoe wear. The shoe contact region at peak RCOF was imaged by frustrated total internal reflection. Images of worn tread after months of use were captured. The worn tread region was more posterior than the contact region at RCOF and did not correlate with the contact region at the time of RCOF. The contact regions observed during earlier stance (within 83 ms of heel contact) were more consistent with the worn region, suggesting that RCOF may not directly cause tread wear. These results serve to motivate future studies to identify early-stance gait parameters associated with tread wear development.