Abstract
Background Between 39% and 69% of women wear high-heeled shoes. Previous studies have shown that high heels can induce adverse biomechanical effects, but variables, such as walking speed, structure, style, and material of the shoes, have not been strictly controlled. The purpose of this study is to investigate the in uences of high-heeled shoe parameters on gait cycle, center of pressure trajectory, and plantar pressure in young females. Methods Twenty healthy adult females were recruited to participate in this study. Subjects walked on a treadmill at a xed speed (1 m/s). Overall, six pairs of high-heeled shoes were evaluated, which consisted of two heel types (thin and thick) and three different heel heights (low (3 cm), medium (6 cm), and high (8.2 cm)). Subjects also wore one pair of at shoes (with 0.6 cm heel height) as the control group, while they walked on the treadmill at the same speed. Results and their signi cance were evaluated using a Heel Height × Heel Type Two way repeated ANOVA Test. Results The main parameters measured were the gait cycle, center of pressure parameters, peak pressure (PP), maximum force, contact area (CA), and the force time integral (impulse). The comparison of these parameters, conducted when the volunteers wore thick heel and at shoes at different walking conditions, indicated that thin heels caused signi cant increases in the preswing parameter, CA, and PP exerted on the rst toe and rst metatarsus. Increased heel heights yielded smaller gait line lengths, single support lines, and smaller hindfoot areas. By contrast, increased anterior-posterior positions and plantar pressure parameter values were noted in the case of the forefoot. Conclusions Data analyses showed signi cant differences in plantar pressure distribution associated with the heel height and heel type at increased pressure in the central forefoot region and decreased pressure in the midfoot and heel sections, which consisted of the increased anterior shift. The implication of this study is to provide scienti c advice to women for their choices of high heel shoes.
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