The effectiveness of MBT has been demonstrated by numerous scientific studies. Moreover, the beneficial effects of Masai Barefoot Technology on the human locomotor system as well as the functionality of MBTs are researched at internationally prominent universities and hospitals.
1.08.2007
Prof. Dr. A. Gollhofer, University of Freiburg, Germany
The Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) is a training and therapy device that was
developed for health oriented athletic activities. In view of the fact that the benefits of
sensorimotor training for injury prophylaxis and rehabilitation are well documented, it
was thought that a comparison of MBT training/therapy and classic sensorimotor
training might yield useful results.
In the present study, an experimental MBT group that wore MBT shoes every day for
eight weeks for no less than four hours daily was compared with an experimental
sensorimotor training group that realised a conventional sensorimotor training. Rate of
force development (RFD), maximum force, and postural stability were measured at
baseline, after four weeks, and after eight weeks (i.e. at the conclusion of the study).
The subjects in both groups achieved the anticipated improvement in postural stability,
although the results for the sensorimotor training group after four weeks of training
were markedly superior to the results obtained by the MBT group. However, after
eight weeks, the improvement achieved by the MBT group was on a par with that of
the sensorimotor training group after four weeks. Wearing MBT shoes for a brief
period (i.e. four weeks) does not allow for anything approaching the substantial
improvement in postural stability that is achievable via sensorimotor training.
However, wearing the MBT does bring about continuous improvement in postural
stability that over the long term matches the effect of sensorimotor training on
individual mechanical parameters.
Rate of force development (RFD) in the leg extensors improved in the sensorimotor
training group after four weeks, whereas no such improvement occurred in the MBT
group. This is attributable to the more rapid movement frequency and the varying
movement dimensions that are engendered by the sensorimotor training devices, which
necessitate more rapid adaptive movements than is the case with MBT shoes, whose
movements always follow the same unchanging pattern.
No improvement in maximum strength in the leg muscle chain as a whole was
observed in either group. Significant improvement in calf musculature was observed in
the MBT group for individual movements. This is attributable to the presumed positive
effect of MBT on the biomechanical maximum-strength parameters in untrained
individuals.
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FUNCTIONAL TESTING OF THE MBT SHOE COMPARED TO ...
1.08.2007
Prof. Dr. A. Gollhofer, University of Freiburg, Germany
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MBT AS THERAPEUTIC SHOE FOR ANKLE INSTABILITIES
1.01.2007
Dr. B. Segesser; X. Kälin, T. Wasser, L. Weisskopf, U. Martin, H.-J. Rist, Praxisklinik Rennbahn, Basel, Switzerland
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PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION OF DIABETIC PATIENTS AFTE ...
1.01.2006
M. Prim. Univ-Doz. T. Bochdansky , M. Mätzler, Dr. R. Aboud, University Feldkirch, Austria & University Dundee, United Kingdom
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THE EFFECTS OF MASAI BAREFOOT TECHNOLOGY FOOTWE ...
1.01.2006
P.R. New, J.M. Pearce, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MASAI BAREFOOT TECHNOL ...
1.09.2005
Prof. Dr. B. Nigg, Dr. C. Emery, Dr. L. Hiemstra, University of Calgary, Canada
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CHANGES IN GAIT CHARACTERISTICS OF A NORMAL HEA ...
1.08.2004
Dr. Rav Naik, T. Vernon, J. Wheat, G. Petit, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom
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