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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Biomechanics and Control of Human Movement
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1516182

The effect of a combined compression-tactile stimulating sock on postural stability

Provisionally accepted
Ashleigh Marchant Ashleigh Marchant 1*Sarah B Wallwork Sarah B Wallwork 2Jeremy Witchalls Jeremy Witchalls 1Nick Ball Nick Ball 1Gordon Waddington Gordon Waddington 1
  • 1 Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  • 2 IIMPACT in Health, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Previous research has demonstrated that postural stability may be improved by increasing stimulation to the somatosensory system. Wearing lower limb compression garments or textured in-soles have been found to be effective short-term methods for improving postural stability, hypothesized to be due to enhanced tactile feedback. The aim of this study was to assess whether a combined compression-tactile sock increases postural stability in healthy adults, compared to barefoot. Participants completed a sensory organization test (SOT) to assess postural stability under two conditions: (a) barefoot, and (b) wearing a compression sock with a textured inner lining (small rubber nodules on the skin side of the sole). SOT composite scores and three sensory scores - somatosensory, vestibular, visual - were assessed between the two conditions to identify whether wearing the socks was associated with enhanced postural stability. Comparisons between the two conditions were analyzed via a paired t test for the (i) entire group, and an ANOVA when the group was split into (ii) ‘high performers’ and ‘low performers’, according to their baseline performance on the SOT. Fifty-four participants (28 females, 26 males, mean age 40 ± 14 years) completed the study. SOT scores were not different between the compression-tactile sock and barefoot conditions when analyzed as an entire group (p>0.0125), or when the group was split into performance groups (p>0.0125). These findings demonstrate that, for healthy adults, mixed compression and tactile stimulation socks do not appear to be associated with improved postural stability, when measured using the sensory organization test. Although prior research indicates that wearing a compression-tactile sock improves somatosensory acuity compared to being barefoot, these benefits do not seem to carry over to postural stability. It may be that in healthy adults, the additional sensory feedback becomes redundant, or the SOT is not challenging enough for this study population.

    Keywords: compression garment1, cutaneous feedback2, tactile sensation3, sensory organization test4, postural stability5, balance6

    Received: 24 Oct 2024; Accepted: 04 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Marchant, Wallwork, Witchalls, Ball and Waddington. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ashleigh Marchant, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, 2601, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.