Female Foot Model for High-Heeled Shoe Design - Computational Biomechanics of the Musculoskeletal System - page 29

Peak Average

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0

0 1 2 3

Heel height (inch)
(a)

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

0 1 2 3

Heel height (inch)

(b)

FIgure 2.9 Effects of heel height on plantar fascia: (a) finite element (FE)-predicted peak and average
strain; and (b) FE-predicted total tension force.

2.3 aPPlICatIon oF the FInIte element model For
hIgh-heeled Shoe donnIng and walkIng
Validated FE foot and footwear models have been used for improving therapeutic and functional
footwear designs (Cheung et al. 2009). Foot-sole FE models were developed to examine the effects
of sole design on plantar pressure and bone stress (Chen, Ju, and Tang 2003; Cheung and Zhang
2008). Foot-shoe-ground models were also developed to study the effect of different midsole plug
designs on plantar pressure (Gu et al. 2011) and the influence of varying sporting ground materi-
als on impact force during landing (Kim et al. 2012). Recent studies showed the potentials and
versatility of the FE method to simulate comprehensive foot-shoe interface (Ruperez, Monserrat,
and Alcaniz 2008; Cheung et al. 2009; Qiu et al. 2011). However, these existing models usually
simplified the footwear conditions, and the donning procedure with a complete shoe was not consid-
ered in the simulation. In some models, the footwear model was often simulated based on initial foot
shape at a neutral position without consideration of the shoe's upper construction (Gu et al. 2011;
Kim et al. 2012). The foot shape will deform after a shoe is donned, especially tight or high-heeled