Background
Rocker shoes are often prescribed to reduce in-shoe pressures in order to minimise the risk of ulceration in diabetic patients. However, the efficacy of the 3 principal design features of a rocker shoe (apex position, rocker angle and apex angle, see Figure 1) is unknown. Only one known study to date has systematically varied 2 of the 3 design features [1]. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the three principal design features, quantify inter subject variability and establish whether there is any difference in the response of the diabetic and the healthy cohort by recording in shoe plantar pressure.