HIGH-HEELED FASHION VS. HEALTHY FEET AND BODY

Do You have to Choose?

By William Madosky

High-Heel Fashion

Are you sacrificing overall health to obtain high-heeled fashion?  Maybe.  Most women don’t want their mothers’ life – or feet of bunions and hammer toes.  Add knee, hip and back pain to the “don’t want” list and those stiletto heels look even less inviting.  

What’s wrong with wearing high heels?

Let’s start with the feet.  Because the heel is significantly higher than the front of the shoe, weight is shifted to the front of the foot, causing a woman to constantly walk or stand on the forefoot and toes.  Over time, this can result in bunions and hammer toes.  It is estimated that more than half of the women in America have bunions, which is generally blamed on wearing high heels, as well as tight and narrow shoes. 

Overall, wearing high-heel shoes changes the physical attributes of standing and walking.  The joints and leg and back muscles needed to maintain normal balance and posture experience dramatic change.  The inward angle of the knee is increased while wearing high heels; stress is simultaneously placed on the inside of the knee joint and the outside of the hip joint.  Like dominos knocking over each other, calf muscles are shortened, forcing the muscles that flex the hip to stay constantly flexed, tilting the pelvis forward.  A forward tilt of the pelvis causes an increase in the curve of the low back and tightens the gluteal and low-back muscles.  All of these changes dramatically increases the chances of injury and pain to all of the joints and muscles involved.   

The Key is Moderation

The realty is that very little can be done to avoid the stress placed on the body from wearing high-heel shoes, but several things can be done to minimize it.  That old saying about everything in moderation is key here:

• Minimize the time spent wearing high heels.  When attending a special occasion, wear a comfortable pair of shoes to and from the event.  Put on your high heels just before you go in and take them off as soon as possible after.
• Wear the shortest high heel possible.  A good general rule would be to wear a high heel that has at most a two-inch heel.  A heel greater than two inches places increased stress on the ankle, foot, hip and back.
• Wear a high heel with a wide heel base.  Stiletto-style heels make it very difficult for good balance.  A shoe with a wide heel base – preferably the width of your heel – increases stability and helps distribute the pressure over a wider area of the foot.
• Stretch the muscles of the calf and leg after wearing high heels.  Stretching these muscles after wearing high heels helps to relax the muscles and keep them from becoming chronically short and tight. 

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