Knee and Ankle Deviations during High-heeled Gait

Most women frequently wear high heeled shoes, which may result in an increase in foot problem occurrence [2]. A simplified opto-electronic approach was used to determine the effects of heel height (i. e., no heels, 6cm heels, 9cm heels) on the joint deviations of the knee and ankle during un-fatigued gait cycles. Four healthy young adult females, experienced in wearing high heels and having the same height, weight, and shoe size, were studied. An opto-electronic motion capture system and a simplified marker arrangement, placed on the right side lower extremity, were used to collect gait cycle data. Joint deviations were calculated using sagittal-plane projections of the three-dimensional vectors defined by the marker arrangement. A graphical comparison of the normalized knee and ankle joint deviation for one subject is presented, while a comparison of various kinematic variables are presented using all four subjects. Substantial differences were observed as heel height was increased.