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In order to access the effects of shoe-heel height on knee muscle activity for transtibial amputees during standing, five male subjects volunteered for the study. Three pairs of shoes with zero, 20 mm and 40 mm heel height were used during normal standing. Surface EMG of 10 muscles was recorded by the Noraxon surface EMG collection system. EMG-MAV of the medial and lateral gastrocnemius of the sound leg almost change double with increase in heel height from zero to 40 mm, and EMG-MAV of the rectus fomris, vastus lateralis and vastus medialis of prosthetic side became larger to different extent. The finding in this paper suggested that an alignment change was necessary to accommodate the heel height change and the prostheses users should be cautious to choose shoes in daily life.

Shoe-heel height has great influence on lower-limb amputees' biomechanics during static standing. This article mainly considers the load line of the prosthetic side in the sagittal plane and the electromyogram (EMG) data of the lower limb muscles. The results indicate that the load line and the EMG are greatly influenced by the shoe-heel height, however, the amputee subconsciously adjusts his standing manner to make himself more comfortable and natural. This will provide references for prosthesis design and alignment setting.

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