Characterization of a novel shoe testing system for use in custom orthotic device evaluation

A novel testing system was developed to evaluate the mechanical characteristics of shoes in the same laboratory where biomechanical data are to be collected. Compressed height, change in height with compression, and initial and late stiffness were compared between left and right shoes for 10 pairs of shoes. Between-shoe differences for compressed height were < 5%, while the differences for change in height during compression, initial and late stiffness were < 15%.