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Zhukovskaya T.V., Tikhonova N.V. Biomechanical design aspects of women’s everyday footwear for hormonal transition periods. Journal of Clothing Science. 2026; 11(1). Available at: https://kostumologiya.ru/PDF/27TLKL126.pdf (in Russian).

Biomechanical design aspects of women’s everyday footwear for hormonal transition periods

Zhukovskaya Tatiana Vladimirovna
Kazan National Research Technological University, Kazan, Russia
E-mail: zhukovskayatv@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4006-6691
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=792962
SCOPUS: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.url?authorId=57219987044

Tikhonova Natalya Vasilievna
Kazan National Research Technological University, Kazan, Russia
E-mail: nata.tikhonova.81@mail.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2241-869X
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=750903
SCOPUS: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.url?authorId=57193534168

Abstract. Pregnancy and menopause are not nosological entities; in the International Classification of Diseases, they are classified as physiological factors affecting health status. This influence often manifests as changes in foot biomechanics, potentially leading to initially subtle but cumulatively effective secondary impairments of the musculoskeletal system’s function. Meanwhile, everyday footwear design is dominated by aesthetic criteria, while its health-preserving function is frequently reduced to subjective comfort perception. This analytical study focuses on the plantar aponeurosis function — foot fascia (longitudinal and transverse arches) — as a key element of natural shock absorption during locomotion, and examines various design approaches, including the tribology of insole lining materials and features of in-shoe interfaces (foot-sock-insole interaction zones), as an engineerable factor influencing shear loads on foot skin tissues and plantar aponeurosis performance.

The research aims to analyze the feasibility of applying existing orthopedic, athletic, and other design solutions to create biomechanically substantiated everyday footwear for women during periods of hormonal transformation, ensuring the shoe’s health-preserving function, including stable plantar aponeurosis operation.

The work is structured as a problem-oriented analytical review. It demonstrates that designing everyday footwear for this target group should be approached as a system of conditions: anatomical volume and space for foot arch function; segmented shoe sole mechanics (moderate cushioning with preserved stability and localized flexibility); adaptive foot fixation without pronounced compression; and targeted zonal regulation of tribotechnical characteristics of insole lining materials.

Keywords: foot biomechanics; health-preserving everyday footwear; hormonal transformation; plantar aponeurosis; footwear microclimate; tribotechnical characteristics; materials tribology

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