Barefoot and High-Heeled Gait: Changes in Muscles Activation Patterns

Abstract

Most women like wearing high-heeled shoes for the benefit of sensuous attractiveness and self-esteem while musculoskeletal problems and gait patterns changes are often associated. The present study aimed to identify changes during the gait stance and swing phases in some lower limb muscles. In addition, abdominal muscle was included due to its importance in dynamic trunk stability, and lack of studies on the subject. Here, we found that the use of high-heeled shoes elicited not only the increasing of the electrical activity from the muscles involved in the gait cycle, but also altered the temporal sequence of their recruitment. As practical applications, these changes may be strategies to maintain stability and minimize risks of falling, but they are often associated to diseases. Women that use high-heeled shoes for prolonged time must apply specific muscle exercises to minimize its long-term effects.