Background: High-heeled shoes can change spinal alignment and feet movement, which leads to muscle fatigue and discomfort in lumbopelvic region, legs, and feet while walking. Objects: This study aimed to identify the effects of different shoe heel heights on the walking velocity and electromyographic (EMG) activities of the lower leg muscles during short- and long-distance walking in young females. Methods: Fifteen young females were recruited in this study. The experiments were performed with the following two different shoe heel heights: 0 ㎝ and 7 ㎝. All participants underwent an electromyographic procedure to measure the activities and fatigue levels of the tibialis anterior (TA), medial gastrocnemius (MG), rectus femoris (RF), and hamstring muscles with each heel height during both short- and long-distance walking. The walking velocities were measured using the short-distance (10-m walk) and long-distance (6-min walk) walking tests. Results: Significant interaction effects were found between heel height and walking distance conditions for the EMG activities and fatigue levels of TA and MG muscles, and walking velocity (p<.05). The walking velocity and activities of the TA, MG, and RF muscles appeared to be significantly different between the 0 ㎝ and 7 ㎝ heel heights during both short- and long-distance walking (p<.05). Significant difference in the fatigue level of the MG muscle were found between the 0 ㎝ and 7 ㎝ heel heights during long-distance walking. In addition, walking velocity and the fatigue level of the MG muscle at the 7 ㎝ heel height revealed significant differences in the comparison of short- and long-distance walking (p<.05). Conclusion: These findings indicate that higher shoe heel height leads to a decrease in the walking velocity and an increase in the activity and fatigue level of the lower leg muscles, particularly during long-distance walking.

Background: The method of measuring the walking function of patients with chronic stroke differs depending on patients walking capability and environmental conditions. Objects: This study aimed to demonstrate the influences of walking capacity and environmental conditions on the results of short- and long-distance walk tests in patients with chronic stroke. Methods: Forty patients with chronic stroke volunteered for this study, and allocated to group-1 (<.4㎧, household walking, n1=13), group-2 (.4∼.8㎧, limited community ambulation, n2=16), and group-3 (>.8㎧, community ambulation, n3=11) according to their walking capacity. The 10-meter walk test (10MWT) and 6-min walk tests, (6MWT) were used to compare the short- and long-distance walk tests results, which were randomly performed under indoor and outdoor environmental conditions. Results: The comparison of the results obtained under the indoor and outdoor conditions revealed statistically significant differences between the groups in the 6MWT and 10MWT (p<.05). Post-hoc tests’ results showed significant differences between groups-1 and -2 and between groups-1 and -3 in the 10MWT, and between group-1 and -3 in the 6MWT. Furthermore, in group-2 the 10MWT and 6MWT results significantly differed between the indoor and outdoor conditions, and the values measured under the indoor and outdoor conditions significantly differed between 10MWT and 6MWT (p<.05). Group-3 showed a significant difference in 10MWT results between the indoor and outdoor conditions (p<.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the results of the short- and long-distance walk tests may differ depending on the walking capacity of patients with chronic stroke and the environmental condition under which the measurement is made, and these effects were greatest for the patients with the limited community ambulation capacity.

The main purposes of this study were to find the correlation between walking ability assessment tools using the Modified Barthel Index (MBI), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Spinal Cord Injury Measurement II (SCIM II), Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (WISCI), walking velocity, and walking endurance. The study population consisted of 56 patients with spinal cord injury referred to the department of Rehabilitative Medicine in the National Rehabilitation Hospital. All subjects were ambulatory with or without an assistive device. All participants were assessed by MBI, FIM, SCIM II, WISCI, walking velocity, and walking endurance. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis and X2. There was significant correlation between the MBI, FIM, SCIM II, WISCI, walking velocity, and walking endurance (p<.01). In particular, WISCI has a significant correlation with SCIM II(p<.001). Therefore the WISCI scale is an appropriate assessment tool to predict the gait ability of patients with spinal cord injury. Further study about MBI, FIM, SCIM II, WISCI, walking velocity, and walking endurance is needed using a longitudinal study design.