Postural assessment of lumbar lordosis among adult female users and non-users of high heeled shoes in the Accra Metropolis
Abstract
Background: The use of high- heeled shoes has undoubted effects on posture and gait. High-heeled shoes have been suggested as the main explanation for excessive lumbar lordosis and consequent dominance of low back pain among corporate women. The habitual use of these shoes may be a plausible explanation for this. We aimed to compare the values of lumbar lordotic angles between habitual users and non-users of high heeled shoes. Methods: A cross sectional study involving a one –time postural assessment of the lumbar spine in the sagittal plane among two groups (the user group who wore high heeled shoes (HHS) and the non-user group who do not wear high heeled shoes to and from work) of women. The flexible curved ruler was used to determine the lumbar lordosis angle. The values recorded were compared between the two groups. Pearson correlation was used to assess the relationship between lordotic angle and the duration of use and height of high-heeled shoes. One-way Analysis of Variance was used to compare the type of heel most frequently worn and lordotic angles while independent sample t-test was used to compare HHS-users and non-users and angle of lordosis. Results: The mean angle for user and non-user groups were 33.08±4.00/Ø and 33.61±3.65/Ø respectively. The average duration of use of HHS was 2.55±1.66 years. Fifty-seven percent of the user group wore high-heeled shoes 3 times a week to work. Majority of the HHS users wore kitten type 12 (46%). There was no significant correlation (r=0.169, p=0.410) between lordotic angle and the duration of use of high-heeled shoes as well as between lordotic angle and the height of high-heeled shoes (r=-0.03, p=0.884). There was also no significant difference (p>0.05) among the type of high-heeled shoes most frequently worn and lordotic angle and no significant difference (p>0.05) between HHS users and non-users and lordotic angle. Conclusion: Results of this study suggests that habitual use of high-heeled shoes does not have a significant effect on lumbar lordotic angle.
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