Analysis of Differences in the Degree of Biomechanical Adaptation according to Habituation to Different Heel Heights

This study aims to comprehensively investigate whether there are any differences in the degree of biomechanical adaptation according to habituation to different heel heights. The biomechanical characteristics of 54 subjects in 3 groups habituated to three heel heights (low, medium-high, and high heels) were evaluated by the measurement of surface EMG, myotonometer (e.g., measurement of muscle tension), foot pressure, and lumbosacral angle, and comparative analysis was carried out to find out whether they showed differences in the comfort visual analog scale (comfort VAS). Wearers of high-heeled shoes (6 cm or more in heel height), in foot pressure comparison, showed significantly high peak pressure in the mask of the hallux, high maximum peak EMG in the gastrocnemius medius (GM), and a high percentage of maximum voluntary isometric contraction (%MVIC) in the plantar flexor. Wearers of low-heeled shoes (3 cm and below in heel height) showed the highest plantar peak pressure in the lateral forefoot and midfoot, the highest contact area in midfoot, the highest %MVIC in the plantar flexion and dorsiflexion of the tibialis anterior (TA), and the highest stiffness in the TA, and they showed the lowest static balance ability with eyes open (EO) among the three groups. It was found that there were significant differences between those habituated to high-heeled shoes and those not habituated to high-heeled shoes and that longtime wearing of high-heeled shoes brings about biomechanical adaptive changes in the human body.