heel height
manufactured by the same manufacturer . The shoe style and materials were maintained the same to minimize confounding variance . Except for the 0.8 cm HHS as the baseline condition , the three other types of HHS were featured with narrow-heeled shoes ( 12.5 mm * 12.0 mm ). Participants were allowed to familiarize themselves with the most suitable experimental shoes with shoe size ranging from EU 36 – 39 prior to the experiment . The four HHS testing conditions were assigned to participants in random order .
Data collection Postural control reliability and validity ( Harro & Garascia , 2019 ). Prior to the test , participants were secured with a protective vest from falling off the instrumentation . They were instructed to stand on the two force plates ( 23 cm * 46 cm ) with feet aligned with the platform axis as the initial position . SOT and LOS were used to test the participants ’ standing balance during self-initiated perturbations , whereas postural stability during externally triggered perturbations was tested by motor control test ( MCT ). Participants were asked to stand still with their feet fixed in the initial position . A five-minute rest was allowed between three tests to prevent potential fatigue .
NeuroCom Balance Manager System ( Version 9.3 , Natus Medical Incorporated , USA ) SMART EquiTest was used to assess postural stability by measuring the participants ’ COG alignment at a sampling frequency of 100 Hz after they were familiar with the experimental HHS ( Chander et al ., 2016 ; Hapsari & Xiong , 2016 ). Computerized dynamic posturography has been proven to be a “ gold standard ” for assessing postural stability with high
figure 1
( A ) Size of the heel base and ( B – E ) experimental shoes with different HH .
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