Research Gate, reports that an article published in 2008 by School of Public and Population Health Professor Uwe Reischl reached 10,000 downloads at the end of 2023.
The article, “A case study of Chinese bound feet: Application of footprint analysis,” evaluated the pressure patterns exhibited by the feet of a 90-year old Chinese woman who underwent painful foot binding at a young age. To demonstrate that their daughters would not have to engage in hard physical labor during adulthood was practiced by wealthy families in China for centuries. Although foot binding is no longer allowed in China today, this subject has emerged as an interesting topic for academic researchers internationally.
This study was made possible when Uwe Reischl attended an international conference on Ergonomics and Human Factors in China in 2007. A Chinese conference participant invited Uwe to meet with her grandmother who had endured painful foot binding at young age. Based on the potential historical significance of this practice, the grandmother agreed to have foot pressure prints made that could be analyzed later at Boise State University.