Shoe heels cause the subtalar joint to supinate, inverting the calcaneus and ankle joint

摘要

The observable effect of the elevated heel of a shoe is to place the ankle joint of the wearer's foot into a plantar-flexed position. Plantar-flexion supinates the subtalar joint, an effect that is a well-known biomechanism crucial to toe-off propulsion, as investigated in detail by many past and present researchers (Hicks, 1961) (Root, Weed, Sgarlato, & Bluth, 1966). It is, therefore, biomechanically logical that the shoe heel, by causing plantarflexion, also automatically causes the wearer's subtalar joint to supinate, albeit an effect far less obvious. That subtlety may account for the lack of research on the coupling of elevated shoe heels with subtalar joint supination.