THE EFFECT OF HIGH-HEEL SHOES ON LOCAL DYNAMIC STABILITY

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: High-heeled shoes with a wide variety of heights are worn by Korea women. Even though walking with high-heeled shoes makes woman appear more slender and taller, a narrow toe box, an excessive plantar curvature and a rigid heel cap have been associated with the development of various foot deformities (Stefanyshyn et al., 2000). The effect of walking with high-heeled shoes on foot pressure distribution, muscle EMG, kinematics, and kinetics was investigated in previous studies (Stefanshyn et al., 2000; Liu & Wang, 2004). Few nonlinear dynamic studies have been conducted to detect differences in local dynamic stability as heel height increases. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine, via a nonlinear analysis, the local dynamic stability present in time series data generated from high-heeled gait.