Comparison of joint angles and electromyographic activity of the lower extremities during standing with wearing standard and revised high-heeled shoes: A pilot study

Revised high-heeled shoes (HHSs) were designed to improve the shortcomings of standard HHSs. This study was conducted to compare revised and standard HHSs with regard to joint angles and electromyographic (EMG) activity of the lower extremities during standing. The participants were five healthy young women. Data regarding joint angles and EMG activity of the lower extremities were obtained under three conditions: barefoot, when wearing revised HHSs, and when wearing standard HHSs. Lower extremity joint angles in the three dimensional plane were confirmed using a VICON motion capture system. EMG activity of the lower extremities was measured using active bipolar surface EMG. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by rank applied to analyze differences during three standing conditions. Compared with the barefoot condition, the standard HHSs condition was more different than the revised HHSs condition with regard to lower extremity joint angles during standing. EMG activity of the lower extremities was different for the revised HHSs condition, but the differences among the three conditions were not significant. Wearing revised HHSs may positively impact joint angles and EMG activity of the lower extremities by improving body alignment while standing.