Footwear Innovation to Improve the Comfort of Use

Abstract

Footwear satisfies diverse and constantly changing human needs, and it may significantly shape the development and efficiency of the foot in both positive and negative terms. According to orthopaedic doctors, non-physiological footwear becomes the cause of many diseases and deformities of the feet, which are often irreversible. Footwear should provide for certain functions: • Protective; • Hygiene and comfort; • Social and aesthetic. The protective function is the basic function that footwear must fulfil: • protection of the foot against mechanical factors (mechanical injuries, pressure), unevenness of the ground; • protection of the foot against climatic factors (temperature, precipitation); • protection against liquid agents (water, acids, alkalis, fats, salt solutions); • protection against radiation, variability of electromagnetic fields, electrostatic impact, which are harmful to human health.