• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.127-133
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of using external kinesio-tape wrapping for inner arch support on the lower extremity EMG for gait in stiletto heels. Methods: Subjects for this study were two female college students who had been wearing stiletto heels almost every day of the week for more than three years. The independent variable was the presence or absence of kinesio-tape wrap for inner arch support. Dependent variables were EMG readings for the four muscle groups: the medial and lateral gastrocnemius, the tibialis anterior, and the peroneus longus. EMG readings were taken using the NORAXON (USA). The Paired t-test within the subject repeated measure design for the presence and absence of inner arch support (p<0.05) was used via SPSS 18.0. Results: With kinesio-tape wrap for inner arch support, there was a statistically significant decrease in the muscle force mean values for the peroneus longus and the medial and lateral gastrocnemius, in the maximum muscle forces of the peroneus longus and the lateral gastrocnemius. Conclusion: External kinesio-tape wrapping for inner arch support in stiletto heels could have an effect to reduce peroneus longus, and medial/lateral gastrocnemius activities that could result in decreased fatigue and discomfort.

• 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.