Since I received the insoles a few days ago, I have been looking at more vibration research. It turns out that there is really a surge of interest in this field. Scientists at Harvard are working on vibrating insoles. In fact, a new study by other scientists at Harvard show that subsensory vibrations (like the ones produced by my insoles) improve gait in the elderly.
Something that bugged me about this subject is why would a person need vibration to stand with proper posture. Then I looked into it more, and found vibration is realy connected to movement more than just standing posture. This study measured vibration sensitivity at 30 different points on the foot, and found large differences. It seems that vibration is feedback information that is used in gait and movement, not necessarily for just standing.
Therefore, it turns out that shoes actually have two separate negative effects: they block tactile information and they also block vibration. This is discussed further in this paper. First, it is pretty easy to see that shoes block information about the texture of the ground. Second, several studies have suggested that shoes block vibration as well. For example, this newer study shows that soccer shoes reduce vibration sensitivity compared to barefoot. I also wrote before about how gymnasts (who practice barefoot) have better vibration sensitivity than athletes who practice in shoes.
All this gives me more confidence in the vibrating insoles I purchased. In some ways, they are just recreating the vibrations a person would receive through barefoot movement.
