Impact of Heel Height on Muscle Activity During Sit to Stand
Author Information
Author(s): Lindsay Edwards, John Dixon, Jillian R Kent, David Hodgson, Vicki J Whittaker
Primary Institution: University of Teesside
Hypothesis
Increasing heel height would elicit increased vastus medialis activity relative to vastus lateralis to stabilize the patellofemoral joint.
Conclusion
As heel height increased, EMG activity in both vastus medialis and vastus lateralis increased, but there was no significant change in the relative activity between the two muscles.
Supporting Evidence
- EMG activity was significantly different with heel height for both VM and VL.
- The VM: VL EMG ratio did not show significant differences across conditions.
- Participants performed sit to stand tasks under controlled conditions to assess muscle activity.
Takeaway
Wearing higher heels makes your leg muscles work harder when you stand up, but it doesn't change how much one muscle works compared to the other.
Methodology
A repeated measures design was used with participants performing sit to stand under four conditions: barefoot and with heel heights of 1, 3, and 5 cm.
Potential Biases
Participants were selected from a specific population (female physiotherapy students), which may limit generalizability.
Limitations
The study used cork wedges to simulate heel height, which may not perfectly represent actual high-heeled shoes, and had a relatively small sample size.
Participant Demographics
Twenty-five healthy females, mean age 24.4 years, accustomed to wearing high heels.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p < 0.01 for VM and VL at certain conditions.
Confidence Interval
95% confidence intervals provided for EMG activity differences.
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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