• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.604-615
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• 2015

The objectives of this study were to investigate whether heel height changes in the U.S. market occur in a cyclical pattern and heel heights show greater within-year variability over time. Heel height data from U.S. Vogue's spring and fall editions were analyzed over the time period 1950~2014. A total of 1581 pieces of data were measured in millimeter units using Adobe Illustrator and standardized by dividing the height of the heel by the shoe length through the curved sole line. To analyze the cycle pattern of heel heights, the yearly averages were standardized by using three-year moving average technique to average out the irregular components of time series data and give a better indication of the long-term fluctuation of heel height. To identify the degree of within-year variability of heel height, the standard deviation of the average measurements for a year was calculated, and then decade averages were drawn from the yearly averaged standard deviation. One-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the within-year variability of data in heel height over the time period studied by decade. The results showed: First, there was a trend toward higher heels from the early 1950s to 2011. Second, four cyclical movements of heel height were observed from 1950 to 2007, and heel heights gradually decreased after 2008. Third, the within-year variability significantly increased over time, especially after the 1980s.

• 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.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.43-55
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• 1999

In today's society, many women wear high-heeled shoes, but the effect of heel height on lumbar lordosis has not been clearly defined. The objective of this study was to identify the influence of heel height and general characteristics of subjects on lumbar lordosis. The subjects of this study were 40 healthy women who were students of the Department of Physical Therapy, College of Rehabilitation Science, Taegu University. Flexible ruler measurement was used to measure the lumbar lordosis at barefoot, 3 cm and 7 cm high-heeled standing positions. The results were as follows: 1) Significant statistical decrease in lumbar lordosis was observed as heel heights were increased from barefoot to 7 cm high heel. 2) There were no statistically significant differences between lumbar lordosis according to three different heel heights and weight, body mass index. 3) Lumbar lordosis measured at different heel heights was related to subject's height. With increasing subject's height, lumbar lordosis that measured from each heel height was significantly decreased. As heel heights were increased from barefoot to 7 cm high heel, significant statistical decrease in lumbar lordosis was observed in the subjects whose height were 151~160 cm. 4) Intrarater reliability on lumbar lordosis taken with a flexible ruler was good, with Cronbach ${\alpha}$ values of 0.8971 for barefoot, 0.8107 for 3 cm and 0.9002 for 7 cm high-heeled standing positions.

• 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.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.1-7
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• 2012

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different heel height on the electromyographic (EMG) activity in Rectus abdominis (RA) and Erector spinae (ES) during gait activity. Methods : A repeated measures design was used. 33 healthy females carried out a standardized gait activity under 3 conditions; with heel wedges of 1, 7, and 12cm in height. EMG activity was recorded from RA and ES during the activity. Data was analysed using the repeated one-way ANOVA. Results : First, as the shoe-heel height was getting higher, change of muscle activation indicated the statistically significant difference in rectus abdominis(p<0.05). Second, as the shoe-heel height was getting higher, change of muscle activation indicated the statistically significant difference in erector spinae(p<0.05). Conclusion : We found that as heel height increased, there was an increase in EMG activity in both RA and ES. This indicated that no RA : ES imbalance was elicited. This study provides information that will inform future research on how heel height affects muscle activity around the trunk.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.36-44
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• 2013

This study aimed to investigate the influence of shoe heel height and muscle fatigue on static and dynamic balance in young women. Thirty women who were used to wearing high heels volunteered to participate in this study. The shoe heel heights were 0 cm and 7 cm. And ankle plantar flexor fatigue was experimentally induced. Static and dynamic balance were measured using the one leg standing test (OLST) and the star excursion balance test (SEBT) in anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions, respectively. Values in the OLST (shoe heel height 0 cm, $28.83{\pm}3.24$ sec to $26.12{\pm}6.13$ sec; and 7 cm, $24.75{\pm}7.09$ sec to $16.86{\pm}9.32$ sec) and the SEBT in anterior (shoe heel height 0 cm, $71.02{\pm}4.57%$ to $69.50{\pm}3.66%$; and 7 cm, $64.17{\pm}3.53%$ to $59.61{\pm}4.06%$) and posteromedial (shoe heel height 0 cm, $92.01{\pm}5.61%$ to $90.38{\pm}7.10%$; and 7 cm, $83.09{\pm}7.29%$ to $76.83{\pm}9.28%$) directions were significantly reduced when fatigue-inducing exercise was performed (p<.05). Furthermore, within these parameters, there were significant interaction effects between shoe heel height and fatigue condition (p<.05). These findings suggest that shoe heel height and muscle fatigue contribute to some changes in static and dynamic balance in young women, probably leading to negative effects on physical function during a variety of activities of daily living.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.125-135
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• 2006

This study was to analyze the effect of dancesport heel-shoes heights on Rumba Cucarachas Movement in terms of analysis, and to provide the essential information to decide the proper heel-shoes heights for individual. six female subjects participated in this study. Dependent variables were set and divided into the amount of movement regarding the velocity and angle of the right elbow, pelvis, ankle, and knee. The following conclusion was drawn blow. 1) Angle: We all appeared in 5, 7, 9cm heel height so that we were similar in a knee and elbow angle and no significantly. The plantar flexion appeared greatly as an ankle angle's shoe high and significantly. 2) Velocity: An elbow velocity all appeared in a three shoes so that it was similar. We speed fast speed some in a 7cm heel height. A knee velocity expressed fast speed some in a 5cm heel height. The pelvis velocity in a that it was similar. Generaly, The aspect to be a dancesport competition o'clock and aesthetic is the height. and the muscular strength train after we need the thing to choose suitable to the individual shoe height. It is logical that the decision of heel-shoes heights should be made by anthropometric and sport dynamic analysis in order to maximize the dynamic and aesthetic aspect of dance sport.

• 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.

• 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.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.16-23
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• 2019

Background: High-heeled shoes can change spinal alignment and feet movement, which leads to muscle fatigue and discomfort in lumbopelvic region, legs, and feet while walking. Objects: This study aimed to identify the effects of different shoe heel heights on the walking velocity and electromyographic (EMG) activities of the lower leg muscles during short- and long-distance walking in young females. Methods: Fifteen young females were recruited in this study. The experiments were performed with the following two different shoe heel heights: 0 cm and 7 cm. All participants underwent an electromyographic procedure to measure the activities and fatigue levels of the tibialis anterior (TA), medial gastrocnemius (MG), rectus femoris (RF), and hamstring muscles with each heel height during both short- and long-distance walking. The walking velocities were measured using the short-distance (10-m walk) and long-distance (6-min walk) walking tests. Results: Significant interaction effects were found between heel height and walking distance conditions for the EMG activities and fatigue levels of TA and MG muscles, and walking velocity (p<.05). The walking velocity and activities of the TA, MG, and RF muscles appeared to be significantly different between the 0 cm and 7 cm heel heights during both short- and long-distance walking (p<.05). Significant difference in the fatigue level of the MG muscle were found between the 0 cm and 7 cm heel heights during long-distance walking. In addition, walking velocity and the fatigue level of the MG muscle at the 7 cm heel height revealed significant differences in the comparison of short- and long-distance walking (p<.05). Conclusion: These findings indicate that higher shoe heel height leads to a decrease in the walking velocity and an increase in the activity and fatigue level of the lower leg muscles, particularly during long-distance walking.