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Cezar Augusto Souza Casarin, Danilo Sales Bocalini, Paulo Henrique Marchetti, Erinaldo Luiz de Andrade, Gerson Santos Leite, Andrey Jorge Serra, Frank Shiguemitsu Suzuki, Paulo Henrique Ferreira Caria
Med Sci Tech 2014; 55:71-76
DOI: 10.12659/MST.892352
Background:
The extended use of high-heeled shoes is considered a possible cause of low back pain and lumbar hyperlordosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship among lumbar and leg muscles activity, lumbar lordosis, and wearing high-heeled shoes.
Material and Methods:
Twenty-four adult women (mean age=24) barefoot and wearing heels of 1, 5, and 10 cm height were evaluated during standing. The gastrocnemius and erector spine muscles were measured by surface electromyography and the angle of lumbar curvature by photogrammetry.
Results:
There was a correlation between decreased lumbar lordosis and the height of the high-heeled shoes (P£0.05), the 10-cm high-heeled shoes were the ones that caused higher muscular activity, 5.0 µV, followed by the 5-cm high-heel, 3.6 µV; the 1-cm high heel, 2.7 µV; and barefoot, 2.3 µV. The gastrocnemius muscles showed higher myoelectric activity (14.79%) than erector spine muscles (13.53%). The myoelectric activity of the evaluated muscles increased concomitantly with increased heel height.
Conclusions:
The decreased lumbar lordosis showed that high-heeled shoes are not responsible for lumbar hyperlordosis; however it does not prevent development of low back pain.
Keywords: Back Muscles, Electromyography, Muscle, Skeletal, Shoes, spinal curvatures