• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.324-328
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to measure the effect of change in heel height on lower extremities activity of young women on high-heeled shoes that young women prefer from more kinetic and realistic perspective as this study changes the degree of slope on a treadmill. The study subjects are 15 young and healthy women who do not have any external injuries or problem with walking and understand the purpose of this study clearly. They wore three different height of heels(1cm, 7cm, 12cm) and walked on a treadmill at a constant speed of 3km/h. EMG value of four muscles (anterior tibial muscle, gastrocnemius muscle, straight muscle of thigh, and biceps muscle of thigh) were collected when walking and the change according to the height of heels were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. Multiple comparison analysis on anterior tibial muscle and heel height showed that the group with 12cm heel showed significantly high muscle activation compared to the groups with 1cm and 7cm heels. The result of this study can be used for various perspectives from inferring and mediating problems caused by wearing high heels on different ground slopes for a long time.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.41-50
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• 2020

The consequences of wearing high heels can be different according to the heel height, gait speed, shoe design, heel base area, and shoe size. This study aimed to focus on the knee extension and flexion range of motion (ROM) during gait, which were challenged by wearing five different shoe heel types and two different self-selected gait speeds (comfortable and fast) as experimental conditions. Measurement standards of knee extension and flexion ROM were individually calibrated at the time of heel strike, mid-stance, toe-off, and stance phase based on the 2-minute video recordings of each gait condition. Seven healthy young women (20.7 ± 0.8 years) participated and they were asked to walk on a treadmill wearing the five given shoes at a self-selected comfortable speed (average of 2.4 ± 0.3 km/h) and a fast speed (average of 5.1 ± 0.2 km/h) in a random order. All of the shoes were in size 23.5 cm. Three of the given shoes were 9.0 cm in height, the other two were flat shoes and sneakers. A motion capture software (Kinovea 0.8.27) was used to measure the kinematic data; changes in the knee angles during each gait. During fast speed gait, the knee extension angles at heel strike and mid-stance were significantly decreased in all of the 3 high heels (p<0.05). The results revealed that fast gait speed causes knee flexion angle to significantly increase at toe-off in all five types of shoes. However, there was a significant difference in both the knee flexion and extension angles when the gait in stiletto heels and flat shoes were compared in fast gait condition (p<0.05). This showed that walking fast in high heels leads to abnormal knee ROM and thus can cause damages to the knee joints. The findings in this preliminary study can be a basis for future studies on the kinematic changes in the lower extremity during gait and for the analysis of causes and preventive methods for musculoskeletal injuries related to wearing high heels.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.9 no.11
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• pp.385-391
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to examine the lower-extremity muscle activation of flat-footed and normal-footed subjects descending stairs while wearing high-heels, thereby identifying any imbalance between the medial and lateral muscles.Thirty female students volunteered to participate in this study. The navicular drop test (NDT) was applied to the selection criteria for the flat-footed group and the normal-footed group. Surface electromyographic data was collected from the medial and lateral quadriceps, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius. Activation of MG and LG was significantly lower in the flat-footed group than in the normal-footed group. Both groups showed significant increases in MQMH and MHMG, but the co-activation in the medial and lateral muscles was lower in the flat-footed group. The co-activation ratios showed a significantly greater MQMH/LQLH in the flat-footed group. Flat-footed subjects who wear high-heels are more likely to experience impaired knee joint alignment than normal-footed subjects. Therefore, flat-footed subjects should use caution when descending stairs while wearing high-heels.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.39-52
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• 2016

Objective: This paper investigates gait changes according to different heel heights and speeds, and the interaction between the effects of the heel height and the speed during walking on stride parameters and joint angles. Furthermore, the relationship among heel height, speed and gait variables is investigated using linear regression. Background: Gait changes by heel height or speed have been studied respectively, but has not been reported whether there is an interaction effect between heel height and speed. It would be necessary to understand how gait changes when a person wears heels in different heights at various speeds, for example, high-heeled walking at fast speed, since it may cause unusual gait patterns and musculoskeletal disorders. Method: Ten females were asked to walk at five fixed cadences (94, 106, 118, 130 and 142 steps/min.) wearing three shoes with different heel heights (1, 5.4 and 9.8cm). Nineteen gait variables were analyzed for stride parameters and joint angles using two-way repeated measure analysis of variance and regression analysis. Results: Both heel height and speed affect movement of ankle, knee, spine and elbow joint, as well as stride length and Double/Single support time ratio. However, there is no significant interaction effect between heel height and speed. The regression result shows linear relationships of gait variables with heel height and speed. Conclusion: Heel height and speed independently affect stride parameters and joint angles without a significant interaction, so the gait variables are linearly amplified or diminished by the two factors. Application: Walking in high heels at fast speed should be careful for musculoskeletal disorders, since the amplified movement of knee and spine joint can lead to increased moment. Also, the result might give insight for animators or engineers to generate walking motion with high heels at various speeds.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.117-125
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in movement strategies of lower limb joints depending on the type of heel during sit-to-stand. Methods: Twenty healthy females participated in this study. All subjects performed sit-to-stand three times each with three different types of heels - bare feet, 9 cm high-heeled shoes, and unstable shoes. Trails were conducted in random order. Three-dimensional motion analysis systems were used for collection and analysis of the kinematic data of lower limb movements. Results: Results of this study showed kinematic differences in pelvis, hip joints, knee joints, and ankle joints during sit-to-stand based on the type of heels. At the initial sit-to-stand, hip joint flexion, knee joint flexion, ankle joint flexion, and ankle joint inversion showed significant differences. The maximal angles of hip joint flexion, hip joint adduction, knee joint flexion, ankle joint flexion, and ankle joint inversion were significantly different, while hip joint adduction, pelvic forward tilt, hip joint rotation, knee joint flexion, ankle joint flexion, and ankle joint inversion differed significantly during the terminal of sit-to-stand. Conclusion: Therefore, the type of heel played an important role in selection of lower limb movements during sit-to-stand which were essential parts of daily life movements.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.347-354
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• 2014

PURPOSE: This study was to examine changes in muscle activity of lower extremity shoes sole form (high heels, shoes with curved out sole, house shoes). METHODS: The subjects of this study were 12 women in their twenties. They put three kinds of shoes (high heels, shoes with curved out sole, house shoes) and walked 5m. The muscles activities of lower extremity muscles (rectus femoris, vastus medialis, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius medial part) were measured using a wireless electromyogram (EMG). Rectus femoris was attached to 1/2 position at the distance between ASIS and knee bone and vastus medials was attached to 2cm from upper inside of knee bone. Tibialis anterior was attached to 75% position above line connecting knee joint and ankle joint and gastrocnemius medial part was attached to 3 5% position above knee joint and ankle. RESULTS: It was found that there were significant differences in changes of muscles activities of lower extremity muscles (rectus femoris, vastus medialis, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius medial part) on shoes sole forms (p<.05). All lower extremity muscles were showed high muscles activities, when high heels wear (p<.05). Wearing shoes with curved out sole was showed high muscle activity of tibialis anterior and lower muscle activity of gastrocnemius medial part compared with wearing house shoes (p<.05). CONCLUSION: Shoes sole form should be considered when patients with knee and ankle joint problems choose shoes because muscles were showed different activities according to shoes sole forms.

• The Korean Nurse
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• v.24 no.1 s.129
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• pp.67-73
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• 1985

The present study has been undertaken to determine the degree of participation of the M. gastrocnemus, M. tibialis anterior, and M. soleus while barefooted and while wearing high heels. Three muscles were studied electromyographically by surface electrode

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.911-917
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle activity of the lower limbs when walking in jeans in order to obtain basic information for development of new jeans patterns with excellent movement adaptability. Using three types of jeans (basic, medium, and slim) with different ease on hip, knee circumference, and crotch length, and two different types of shoes, Electromyogram (EMG) of the lower limbs muscle was measured for four healthy subjects walking on treadmills and stairs. EMG of vastus lateralis, semitendinous, tibialis anterior and medial head of gastrocnemius muscles was measured. The muscle activity was assessed in RMS (Root Mean Square) value of the EMG. On the treadmill in sneakers, only the vastus lateralis muscle showed a significant difference in RMS value depending on patterns. Basic and medium jeans allowed higher muscle activity than trunks of slim jeans did. On the treadmill in high heels and slim jeans, the RMS values of all muscles were significantly smaller than in basic jeans, whereas no significant differences were shown while in trunks or medium jeans. On the stairs either in sneakers or in high heels, no significant differences were shown between all muscle activities for all types of jeans. On the treadmill, greater fatigue was induced in all muscles from walking in high heels than in sneakers for all jeans patterns. When walking on the stairs wearing either type of shoes, however, the effect of jeans pattern on muscle activities was different from muscle to muscle.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.197-204
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of high-heels (HH) modification on metatarsal stress in female workers. Method: Seven females who work in clothing stores ($heights=160.4{\pm}3.9cm$; $weights=47.4{\pm}4.1kg$; $age=31.3{\pm}11.1yrs$; $HH\;wear\;career=8{\pm}6.5yrs$) wore two types of HH (original and modified). The modified HH had been grooved with 1.5 cm radius and 0.2 cm depth around the first metatarsal area inside of the shoes using the modified shoe-last. Participants were asked to walk for 15 minutes on a treadmill and to stand for 10 minutes with original and modified HH, respectively. Kinetics data were collected by the F-scan in-shoe system. After each test, participants were asked to rate their perceived exertion using the Borg's 15-grade RPE scale and interviewed about their feeling of HH. Nonparametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test and effect size (Cohen's d) were used to determine the difference of the variables of interest between the original and modified HH. Results: In the present study, modified HH of the peak contact pressure of 1st metatarsal (PCP) left, PCP right, pressure time integral (PTI) left, peak pressure gradient (PPG) left during standing and PPG right during walking are greater than original HH. And even it didn't show statistically significant, the average in all pressure values of modified HH showed bigger than original HH. It surmised to be related to awkward with modified HH. Even though they said to feel the comfortable cause of big space inside of HH in the interview, they seemed to be not enough time to adapt with new HH. So their walking and standing postures were unstable. Conclusion: Modified the fore-medial part of HH can reduce the stress in the first metatarsal head and big toe area during standing and walking.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.93-104
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• 2013

Purpose : The purpose of this study is balanced exercise program according to the supporting surface any affect women's ability to balance high heels. Methods : This study subjects were normal 20 females in their twenties. They were divided into stable supporting surface(n=10), unstable supporting surface(n=10), and they exercised three times a week for 5 weeks. In order to compare the difference of balance, the subjects were measured before and after training. Balance was examined using the balance master 7.0 version systems. Results : 1. There was significant difference values between pre-exercise and post-exercise of unstable surface group on the FORM-EO and FORM EC of MCTSIB and all of Unilateral Stance variables. 2. There was significant difference values between pre-exercise and post-exercise of stable surface group on the mean EPE, mean MXE, and mean DCL of LOS. 3. There was significant difference values between pre-exercise and post-exercise of unstable surface group of the rhythmic weight shift. 4. There was significant difference value in the slow directional control of rhythmic weight shift between groups after exercise. Conclusion : Training on stable supporting surface group and unstable supporting surface group improve balance.