LOWER-EXTREMITY MECHANICS AND ENERGY-COST OF WALKING IN HIGH-HEELED SHOES

In today's society, many women wear high-heeled shoes. However, the ef fect that shoes of different heel heights have on the biomechanics and energy cost of gait has not been fully investigated. In the present s tudy, the energy cost and the lower extremity mechanics in shoes of di fferent heel heights (1.25 cm, 3.81 cm, 5.08 cm, and 7.62 cm) were exa mined in 15 female subjects, seven of whom could be considered experie nced high-heel wearers. Kinematic data from high-speed video and kinet ic data from a force platform were collected to describe lower extremi ty mechanics while subjects walked overground at a speed of 4.2 km/hou r. Heart rate and oxygen consumption were monitored while subjects wal ked on a treadmill, also at 4.2 km/hour. There were no significant dif ferences in any of the parameters as a function of experience in weari ng high heels, therefore, the data were pooled for further analysis. A nalysis of the biomechanical data revealed that ankle plantar flexion, knee flexion, vertical ground reaction force, and the maximum anterop osterior braking force increased as a function of heel height. In addi tion, the timing of the subtalar and knee joint action was asynchronou s with the increase in heel height. Metabolically, heart rate and oxyg en consumption also increased with heel height. There were many signif icant differences between the 5.08-cm and the 7.62-cm heel conditions. Therefore, to maintain comfort and decrease the risk of injury, women may be advised not to wear shoes with a heel height greater than 5.08 cm.