The kinematics of the spine and lower limbs on sagittal plane in high-heeled gait

Purpose: Most studies investigating the effect of wearing high heels on the spine have not provided adequate evidence and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. There is still debate about whether wearing high heels can lead to an increase of lumbar lordosis. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to research the impact of high heels on the lower limb associated with the spine in the sagittal plane of motion during a walking gait experiment.

Methods: Fifteen healthy women aged 20-25 years were measured while waking barefoot versus wearing high heels at speeds of 2.5km/h and 5km/h. The motion of the lower limb and spine was captured by a Vicon system (Oxford Foot Model) and the DIERS Formatric 3D device, respectively.

Results: The study showed that the flexion range for the knee, ankle, hallux, forefoot, hindfoot, and lumbar lordosis increased significantly while walking in high heels regardless of speed. The angular variation of the hallux, forefoot, hindfoot showed remarkable differences between slow and fast walking speeds.

Conclusions: The lumbar lordosis increased when wearing high heels. Knowledge obtained from this study adds new evidence that wearing high heels can change posture with regards to the lower limb and spine during gait analysis.