Comparision of the Stress Distribution Between High-Heeled and Flat Shoes on The First Metatarsal Bone

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of the wearing high-heeled shoes (HHS) by comparing the wearing the flat shoes on the first metatarsal bone using the finite element method. The first metatarsal bone is modeled from computerized tomography (CT) image as 3D and imported to ANSYS Workbench Software. Body weight (BW) and muscle forces were applied to the first metatarsal bone. The bone was fixed at the proximal region of the bone for the boundary conditions. Three evaluation criteria were examined for the results as the stresses, the total deformations and the strain values on the bone. The stress and strain distributions of the bone were evaluated for the bone failure. The deformation of the bone were evaluated for the bone stabilitiy. As a result, the wearing HHS increases the stress values on the first metatarsal bone approximately %54 compared to the flat shoes. The strain values showed that the bone crack or failure was not occured. The deformation of the bone was increased when wearing the HHS shoes. The conclusion of the study is that the wearing HHS negatively affects the first metatarsal bone. Hence, the frequency of the wearing HHS in daily life should be reduced and heeled shoe designs should be made taking into account the stresses occured on the bone.