“Neuro Socks”: Acute and long-term effects on balance

INTRODUCTION: Deterioration of balance in old age is a significant predictor of fall risk. Wearing special socks or insoles would be a relatively simple and inexpensive option to improve balance. The company VoxxLife claims that wearing their socks with a special tactile pattern (Human Performance Technology) triggers a neural response in the brainstem that leads to numerous improvements in a wide variety of areas, including enhanced balance. The aim of the present study was to examine whether wearing these “Neuro Socks” has acute and/or long-term effects on balance ability compared to standard socks.
METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, 60 subjects (20-63 yrs of age; 31 females) were allocated to wear either Neuro Socks or standard socks for 5-6 weeks. Pre and post static balance performance with Neuro Socks and standard socks were measured using a multiaxial-unstable balance board (MFT Challenge Disc®). To evaluate acute and long-term effects, frequentist and Bayesian 3-way ANOVA with Time (pre, post) and Socks (Neuro, standard) as within-subject factors and Group (intervention, control) as between-subject factor was calculated using JASP 0.16 (with default prior). Separated 2-way ANOVAs and t tests were employed for post-hoc comparisons.
RESULTS: Changes in the balance performance from pre- to post-test were similar between groups (Group X Time: p=.546) with trivial effects (eta²p=0.006) and moderate evidence in favour of H0 (BF01=3.33). In the pre-test, wearing Neu-ro Socks during balance testing did not significantly differ from wearing standard socks (p=.246; d=0.151) with moderate evidence in favour of H0 (BF01=3.69). In the post-test, a significant interaction of Group X Socks was found (p=.031; eta²p=0.078; BF10=1.99) with the Neuro Socks intervention group showing worse balance abilities when tested with Neuro Socks (p=.004; d=0.572; BF10=9.98).
CONCLUSION: The findings of our intervention study contradict the notion that wearing Neuro Socks improves the static balance ability in young to middle-aged healthy subjects. This applies to both short-term and long-term effects. For any balance improvements, it seems rational that there must be a change in the foot-ground interface. In order to do this, the socks would need to be able to generate a certain threshold of intense afferents. The Neuro Socks with a relatively small HPT pattern, however, seem to be insufficient to stimulate the sensorimotor system in this manner. Whether they have positive effects on other areas such as pain, strength or speed must be verified in further studies.