The Effect of Load Carriage While Wearing High Heeled Shoes on Ankle Joint Kinetics During Walking

Abstract

There are more than half of the female in the world wearing of high heeled shoes on a daily basis, despite reported on lack of comfort and support. Carrying load with the increased of heel height will significantly can alter the gait pattern which may cause the serious impacts to body musculoskeletal system. This study was performed to investigate the combined effects of the asymmetric load and high heeled shoe to the ankle joints kinetics associated with the changes in lower extremity kinematic parameters. 15 female walked in high heeled shoes with the selection of their preferred walking speeds have been collected in this study. The result revealed that the barefoot gait has longer stride length and step length compared to 2 inch and 4 inch high heeled shoes. The maximum VGRF showed significant changes as the asymmetric load increased. The maximum VGRF of both loaded and unloaded limbs has significant increased as the load weight and heels height increased. Besides, ankle joint force is significant increased as heels height increased. Therefore, women are encouraging to avoid or minimize the wearing of higher heels while carrying heavier asymmetric load.