Social trends have always forced women to comply with changing fashion standards to be accepted in society. Unfortunately, these trends usually promote apparel that is attractive to look at but uncomfortable to wear, including footwear. High heels are worn by women every where, from business to social settings. We analyzed the gait of a woman walking in high-heel shoes and walking without shoes. We studied her in these two situations to compare the differences and similarities in each variation of gait. Are there any advantages or disadvantages in gait when walking in high-heel shoes compared to normal walking without shoes?
The purpose of this project is to compare the gait between walking without shoes, normal gait, and walking in high-heel shoes. These findings could help women in everyday life understand biomechanically how differences in their footwear will affect their body. Our group's interest in this subject stems from the fact that we are three young women who have previously complied with the social trend of high-heel footwear, and will most likely continue to wear high heels throughout our lives. This sparked an interest in us to study the effect that high heels have on our gait cycle and our body motion.