Summary: The Effects Of High-Heeled Shoes

The effects of high-heeled shoes on knee, ankle and foot The main purpose of walking is to move the body forward, seeking to spend the least amount of energy possible. (footEducation, 2014) This form of human locomotion uses the foot to absorb and disperse the force of the body when it takes a step. Additionally, the foot propels the body forward by forming a rigid leverage toward the end of the phase of gait. (footEducation, 2014) Although this action may seem a simple task is more complex than it appears. During walking there is a moment where only one foot is on the ground, this requires balance and propulsion in order to successfully complete a single step. Shoes can modify the motor control and the forces on the walk. (Cronin, 2014) The normal type of shoe has a 2 cm heel that provides protection to the foot. There is another type of shoe that has a higher heel than the forepart. This heel can elevate to more than 10 cm increasing the complexity of walking than it should be. Presumably, HH were introduced in 1660 during the age of Louis XIV in France …show more content…
A varus knee moment is a compressive force on the medial part of the knee and a stretching force on the lateral part. When walking in HH the body weight shifts further medially in relation to the foot, which increases the varus moment. (Barkema et al. 2011) The varus moment increases as the height of the heel increases, according to Barkema et al. (2011), which also suggests that the use of high heels, specially heel higher than 5 cm, may lead to joint degeneration and knee osteoarthritis in the medial compartment. Similar increases in varus moments were found in a study performed by Kerrigan et al. (2001), in where the variable was wider and narrower heels. This study found no difference in the varus moments of both conditions, confirming that the parameter of importance is the height of the heel and not the heel