• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.65 no.7
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• pp.86-100
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• 2015

This study is to investigate the relationships between heel height and macro-economic factors - recession and unemployment; and to analyze the time lags reflecting economic factors on heel height index using U.S. data. The life-history evolution theory was applied to propose the relationships studied. The data for the heel height measurements of women's shoes - pump style only - were obtained from US Vogue fashion editorial sections on spring and fall editions from 1950 to 2014. I divided the heel height by the length of the shoes in order to standardize the data. Total of 1581 samples were used, and heel height data were aggregated to create a yearly average. To explore the relationships between macro-economic factors and heel height, this study used OLS of Stata 13 program. The main findings show that unemployment rates influenced heel height for three years in a positive direction. Furthermore, the effects of unemployment rate from two years ago on the current heel height were very close to being on a significant level.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2012

Purpose : This study was conducted to identify the effects of high heel shoes on surface electromyography(EMG) activities fo tibialis anterior(TA), soles(S), and gastrocnemius(G) in 12 healthy women. Methods : Subjects were composed of three group(sports shoes, 5cm heel height shoes, and 9cm heel height shoes). The muscle activity of the TA, G, S in the lower leg were measured using a surface EMG. Results : Results of one way repeated measures ANOVA of the after waling 30minutes standing task duration among the sport shoes, 5cm, and 9cm heel height conditions. The comparison of the muscular activities showed significant differences in the G muscles among the high heel shoes. Conclusion : Wearing high heel shoes for hours will bring inappropriate alignment of the lower limbs and cause postural changes or abnormal sensation and several other problems in the body, resulting in exposure to ankle sprain or fall injuries.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2021

Purpose: This study examined the effects of heel insoles on the static balance and leg muscle activity and posture control strategy during external perturbation. Methods: Thirty healthy young men participated in the study. The subjects underwent two experimental conditions: 1) no heel insole condition (0cm) and 2) wearing heel insole condition (5cm). The static balance was measured using an I-Balance device, which measured the change in the center of gravity (COG). The onset time of muscle activation and muscle activation of the erector spinae (ES), hamstring (HAM), gastrocnemius (GCM) were measured using surface EMG electrodes to determine the change in posture control strategy during external perturbation. Results: The speed and distance of COG were significantly higher in the wearing heel insoles condition than the no heel insole condition (p<0.05). In addition, significant differences in the onset time of the GCM, HAM, and ES muscle activation were observed when there was no heel insole condition during external perturbation (p<0.017). On the other hand, no significant differences in the onset time of muscle activation were observed between GCM and HAM when wearing the heel insole condition during external perturbation (p<0.017). Moreover, muscle activation of the GCM was significantly higher in the wearing heel insoles condition than the no heel insole condition during external perturbation (p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that heel insoles may have disadvantages, and increased efforts are needed to maintain balance and change the posture control strategy during external perturbation.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.55-62
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• 2005

This study examined the effect of ergonomic heel rest that was designed for drivers who have physical handicap in the low leg muscles or have to drive prolonged hours with frequent foot pedaling. An experiment was designed to test the ergonomic heel rest with traditional foot pedal. Forty subjects participated in the experiment. Electromyography(EMG) was used to monitor the muscle activity and fatigue of right leg, and Electro-goniometer was used to measure the ranges of motions of the knee and ankle. A simulator of driver's seat was built for the experiment and the heel rest was installed on it. In order to examine the low muscle activity and range of motion, subjects used the foot pedal for 15 minutes repetitively for each experimental condition. Another 15 minutes test without the heel rest was also performed for comparison. The Root Mean Square(RMS) and Mean Power Frequency(MPF) Shift were used to quantify the level of muscle activity and local muscle fatigue. In results, statistically significant decreases of muscle activity and fatigue were found in all the low leg muscles. The range of motion of the knee and ankle joint also decreased when the heel rest was used. The mechanism of the heel rest effect was discussed in this study. This type of heel rest can be applied to real driving situation after ensuring the safety, or overcoming the psychological discomfort possibly due to unfamiliarity.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.67-76
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• 2017

In this study, the effect of caisson heel on the active earth pressure is investigated. Using limit analysis method, inclinations of slip surface developed above the heel with different lengths are analyzed. The shorter the heel length, the larger those of inside slip surface, however those of outside slip surface are not changed. According to the relative heel length, relationships of internal friction angle of backfill material - wall friction angle between caisson structure and backfill - friction angle acting on virtual section at the end of heel are presented. Earth pressures acting against caisson structure with relatively short heel are smaller than Rankine earth pressure but always greater than Coulomb earth pressure which does not consider the heel length.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.21-27
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• 2019

PURPOSE: This study examined the changes in the kinematic variables during walking on a downhill ramp according to the shoe heel height. METHODS: The subjects were 10 adult women with no history of musculoskeletal disorders who agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected using a motion analysis system (VICON) consisting of six infrared cameras. The slope was 120 cm in width, 200 cm in length, and 15 in inclination. To confirm the change in gait parameters (stride length, gait speed) and lower extremity joint angle according to the heel heights of the shoes, flat, 5 cm, and 10 cm heel shoes were prepared and walked alternately. RESULTS: As a result, both the stride length and walking speed showed significant differences according to the heel height between flat and 10 cm (p<.05). In the sagittal plane, there was no significant difference in the hip joint and knee joint, but a significant difference was observed in all events in the ankle joint on all heel heights (p<.05). In particular, the heel strike and mid stance events showed significant differences among all height conditions (p<.05). No significant difference was observed in any of the joint angle changes in the frontal plane (p>.05). CONCLUSION: As the shoe heel height increased, the instability increased and efforts to secure the stability were made, leading to a shortened stride length, walking speed, and angle of the ankle joint.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2017

PURPOSE: This study was to determine the changes of abdominal muscles activation according to the heel contact methods of stair ascent in healthy young adults. METHODS: 33 healthy young subjects (mean age: $26.37{\pm}9.72$ years, age range: 20-32 years) volunteered under two conditions. They were performed stair ascent with heel contact and without heel contact. The effects of heel contact methods were assessed using the surface electromyography (sEMG) analysis during stair ascent for activation of abdominal muscles (internal oblique; IO, transverse abdominis; TrA, external oblique; EO rectus abdominis; RA). The interventions were conducted over three trials in each method, and measurements were performed on each subject by one examiner in three trials. RESULTS: Our results revealed that there were significantly greater increase in the EMG activation of IO and TrA muscles in the performance of stair ascent with heel contact (p<.05) compared to those of stair ascent without heel contact. The results also showed that there were greater decrease in the ratio of abdominal muscle activation in those of stair ascent with heel contact compared with stair ascent without heel contact. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrated that the method of stair ascent with heel contact would suggest positive evidence for improving activation of abdominal muscles.

• 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.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.186-193
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• 2003

Floor vibrations in residence and office buildings are typically induced by heel drop and walking movement of occupants. The criteria of most vibration provisions have been developed based on the vibration caused by heel drop impact rather than walking. There may be considerable differences between the vibration characteristics induced by walking and heel drop. The effect of walking vibration was not well reflected on current provisions. In this paper, shaking table test was performed to investigate the human perception level against the vibrations due to walking and heel drop. This study attempts to compare the human Perception level of two different vibration sources. Also, this study investigates the effect of damping on a Perception level under heel drop and walking vibration.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.613-624
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• 2001

Backgroun and purpose: The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of high heel shoes on lumbar lordosis for young ladies. The most of ladies wear high heel shoes at least 4 to 5 days a week. Subjects: Subjects were 30 young ladies age between 20 to 30 years old who go to the Sahm Yook University. Methods: Participants were static standing position with bear feet, tennis shoes. and 6cm high heel shoes each different time. The ankles of subjects were 15 degree plantar flexion with 6cm high heel shoes. Metrecom Skeletal Analysis System v. 3. 10 was used to measure the lordosis of each subject. Results: The angle of the lordosis with high heel shoes showed the significant decrease omparing with the angle of lordosis with bear feet and tennis shoes. The mean difference is 2.57 degree. Conclusion: There is strong relationship between the high of heel with decreasing the lumbar lordosis(p<0.05).