Pressure Measurement on Toes in Pointe Shoe Using Pressure-Sensitive Film

Foot injury is one of the major problems that afflict ballet dancers. Measuring the force applied to the foot in pointe shoes can be a way to identify factors causing injuries that are associated with pointe shoes. However, a suitable sensor for measuring pressure in pointe shoes has not yet been developed. In this article, we propose using a pressure-sensitive film in which the magnitude of pressure correlates with the intensity of color, which has not been used for pressure measurement in pointe shoes. The advantage of this method is two-fold: first, it can measure pressure at many locations on the toes with high spatial resolution and without electricity; second, the film is thin and therefore does not interfere with actual movement. The foot pressures in a pointe shoe were measured with pressure-sensitive film for 4 ballet dancers, and each dancer was measured twice. As a result, an individual-specific pressure distribution pattern was observed, and it was consistent across the 2 measurements, confirming the repeatability. How this methodology can be used complementary to other methods was discussed.