Footwear Heel Height and Gait Biomechanics in Healthy Young Women: A Within-Subject Analysis of Spatiotemporal Parameters, Propulsion, and Pelvic Kinematics

Description

Alina-Daniela Totorean and co-authors measure how heel height changes walking in a 2026 within-subject study of seventy-five healthy young women. Each participant walked barefoot, in ballerina flats, and in eight and twelve centimeter heels while an inertial sensor system captured thirty gait measures, letting every woman serve as her own control. The team also tested how body characteristics shaped the responses.

Footwear changed twenty-two of the thirty measures. Surprisingly, all shod walking was faster than barefoot, driven by longer strides rather than quicker steps, and stride length peaked at the eight centimeter heel before falling back. Symmetry eroded steadily as heels rose, while the push-off index climbed with height. Flats produced their own distinctive quick, light pattern. Body weight, age, and shoe size modestly predicted responses. Because women wore their own shoes, the authors caution that shoe design and height are entangled here.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13300841