• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.407-413
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• 2014

PURPOSE: We investigated the influence of heel insole and visual control on body sway index with high-heeled shoes. METHODS: The subjects of this study were 61 healthy students. None of the participants had any orthopedic or neurologic alterations. C90 area, C90 angle, trace length, sway average velocity were measured using a force plate by BT4. The variables were measured both with insole and without insole when wearing high-heeled shoes under the conditions of eyes open and eyes closed. The collected data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and paired t-test. RESULTS: When wearing high-heeled shoes with insole under the conditions of eyes open, trace length, C90 area, velocity were significantly more decreased than without insole (p<.01). When wearing high-heeled shoes with insole under the conditions of eyes closed, only C90 area was significantly more decreased than without insole (p<.05). When wearing high-heeled shoes with insole under the conditions of eyes open, trace length, C90 area, velocity were significantly more decreased than under the conditions of eyes closed (p<.01). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that the use of high-heeled shoes with insole supported from heel to midfoot more increased static balance than without insole under the conditions of eyes open.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.37-48
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• 1997

It is very common for women wear shoes with a high heel. It has been known that the high heel could disfigure the foot shape and cause various joint problems including back pain. However, few quantitative studies have been conducted. Therefore, in this study, the low back muscle has been investigated in order to find fatifue effect due to different heights of the heel. In particular, 0, 4, 6 and 8cm heel and two different shapes of heel have been used for an experiment. Ten healthy female subjects volunteered for the study. Isometric Trunk Exertion Frame(ITEF) and Electromyography were used to measure tha Median Frequency via Spectral analysis. The results indicated that the heel height significantly affected the local muscle fatigue of the back. After post hoc analysis, it was found that a proper heel height ougth to be lower than 5cm not to have severely fatigued back muscle after a casual walk for an hour. Such results could be applies to female industrial workers in order to prevent a cumulative trauma disorder of the back, and also to design a female dress shoes minimizing low back fatigue.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2008

This study was performed to compare the kinematics among three different safety shoes(type 1: ergonomically designed and high quality shoes, 2: curved and cushioned safety shoes, and 3: regular safety shoes) and to find the effect of insole during walking. Ten healthy subjects were recruited for this study. The range of motion of knee and ankle joint, angle of rear foot and angle of heel contact were measured using a three dimensional motion analysis system. In the second peak, the angle of heel contact showed statistically significant difference between safety shoes and insole, however, there was no statistical significance among three different safety shoes. The angle of ankle increased significantly at initial contact, first peak, the second peak and the toe off phase compared with type 1 and 2 safety shoes, and the angle of ankle showed statistically significant difference between with and without applying the insole. During the first peak, the second peak and the toe off phase, the angle of knee was statistical significance between safety shoes and insole. In heel contact, the angles of Achilles' tendon showed statistically significant difference between safety shoes and insole. The rear foot angles showed statistically significant difference between safety shoes and insole during heel contact and early heel contact. These results suggest that the type 1 safety shoes were superior to others in the statistics, and applying insole could be a possible method to prevent fatigue of lower extremity and musculoskeletal disorders. Further studies are needed to find the effect of ergonomically designed safety shoes and insole on practical value in prevention of musculoskeletal disorder, fatigue and satisfaction of workers.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2004

In terms of women engaged in clerical job. working time of the workers who mainly keep standing with their high-heeled shoes on has been increasing. According]y. they are exposed to many kinds of foot deformation caused by loads of lower back and lower extremities due to high-heeled shoes. The type of heels they usually wear are diverse though the hight is same. In this study. we investigated most women's favorite styles of shoes concerned with heights. types and contact areas of the heels. Hence. we designed three kinds of shoes for an experiment: their contact areas with ground are 1 cm2. 2-4 cm2 and over 9 cm2 according to the heel heights. respectively. To investigate the biomechanical effects. analysis of motion and EMG were applied to the experiments. In addition. foot pressure distribution was measured for more detailed analysis. Six healthy young women were participated in this experiments. The result showed the heel becoming higher and narrower increased not only fluctuation of CBM(Center of Body Mass). but also the load of low back muscle and lower extremities. Accordingly. there was significant difference among types of the heel in terms of the role supporting load of the body. though the height is same. Especially. the difference among the pressures on a foot was most significant. In conclusion. we verified biomechanical effects are related with the contact area of a heel with ground as well as the hight.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2010

The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of the balance ability on the heel height (flat, low heel[3cm], and high heel[7cm]) and high heeled habituation (group A is used to a low heeled shoes (<7cm) and group B is used to a high heeled shoes (${\geq}7cm$). Thirty-five subjects participated in this study. In this study, the static balance with opened eyes and closed eyes and dynamic balance were measured. Also functional reach test was tested. The results found that the static balance ability was the best in a 7cm heeled shoes with open eyes and closed eyes, but there was not significant difference between group A and Group B. Dynamic balance ability with walking velocity and cadence were significant difference between Group A and B. In the walking velocity, a flat was the fastest, followed by 7cm heel and 3cm heel with Group A while 3cm and 7cm, then a flat with Group B. Also Cadence pattern was similar. Functional balance ability was the highest with a flat, but it was not difference significantly between Group A and B. Therefore, this study demonstrated that the habituation to the high heel altered gait velocity and cadence of dynamic balance ability.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.117-123
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to convergence comparison the ankle joint angle change during walking of college students in their 20s with flat foot according to the heel height of insole shoes. Qualisys Track Manager Software ver. 2.8 (Qalisys Track Manager) was used for 15 college students. Functional shoes with insoles were manufactured, and the heel heights of the shoes were set to 3cm and 7cm. The subjects wore shoes with two high heels and gaited by attaching a reflex marker to the side of the ankle joint. The angle change of the ankle joint was measured in the gait stance phase. The angle of the ankle joint significantly decreased both heel strike, foot flat, midstance, and toe off to the heel height increased when the subjects with flat feet wore insole shoes. Therefore, it is thought that flat feet should wear low shoes when wearing insoles to reduce the fatigue of the soles and to walk comfortably.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.135-143
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate onset timing of vastus medialis oblique(VMO) relative to vastus lateralis(VL) the VMO/VL electromyographic(EMG) ratio according to heel height Methods: A repeated measures design was used. Fifteen healthy female college students with no known knee musculoskeletal dysfunction were recruited this study. They carried out a standardised stair acent activity under 4 conditions; barefoot, and with heel height of 1, 3, 7 cm. Muscle activity was measured by surface EMG (Myosystem 1400A, Noraxon Inc., U.S.A). Data were analysed using $1{\times}4$ repeated measures ANOVA. Results: Onset timing differed with heel height(p<.05). However, the VMO/VL EMG ratio was not significantly difference between conditions. Conclusion: We found that 7 cm heel height delayed in VMO onset compared with 3 cm heel height during stair ascent, but no change in the relative EMG intensity of VMO and VL as measured by th VMO/VL ratio. The findings indicate that high-heeled shoes may have disadvantages in knee stability because of delayed onset of VMO. Due to a lack of knee joint stability, wearing of high heeled shoes should be avoided.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.771-778
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• 2009

We aimed to determine the effect of heel height on foot pressure by comparing and analyzing data on foot pressure in shoes with different heel heights. Qn the basis of a previous study, we selected 3cm and 7cm as the shoe heel heights preferred by female college students. We divided 10 female students into forefoot and hindfoot to measure vertical force, maximum pressure, and average pressure. The average pressure on the forefoot was higher and that on the hindfoot was lower in the case of 7cm high-heeled shoes. The maximum pressure on the forefoot was significantly higher in the case of the 7cm heel height (p<.05). The vertical force, maximum pressure, and average pressure on the hindfoot were also significantly higher in the case of the 7cm heel height (p<.05). The results showed that wearing 7cm high-heeled shoes exerted greater maximum pressure on the forefoot and greater vertical force, maximum pressure, and average pressure on the Hndfoot. This leads to increase in confining pressure caused by high pressure distribution over the forefoot and increase in the pressure on the hindfoot, which may cause deformation of toes and heel pain over a long period. Therefore, female college students who wish to wear high heels are recommended to wear 3cm high-heeled shoes rather than 7cm high-heeled shoes.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.28-36
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the trunk and the lower limb muscles during quiet standing on an unstable surface while wearing low-heeled shoes (3 cm), high-heeled shoes (7 cm) and without footwear (0 cm) in 20 young healthy women. The subjects stood on an unstable surface for 30 seconds. We examined the differences in the EMG data of the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, biceps femoris, rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, and the gastrocnemius medialis muscle. A one-way repeated analysis of variance was used to compare the effects of shoe heel height on the EMG activity with the level of significance set at ${\alpha}=.05$. The EMG activity of the erector spinae and the rectus femoris were significantly increased (p<.05) in the subjects who wore elevated heel height, while the tibialis anterior and the gastrocnemius medialis were significantly decreased (p<.05). However, the rectus abdominis and the biceps femoris exhibited no significant difference among the three conditions. The above results indicate that wearing high-heeled shoes may change the postural strategy. The findings of this study suggest that excessive heel height could contribute to an increased fall risk during quiet standing.