Are Wearing High Heels Bad for your Feet?
What are the consequences of wearing high heels?
Women, for generations now, have always said that “beauty is pain,” and in recent studies of the effects of wearing high heels for long periods of time shows that this telling is true. Although generally known by the public that heels aren’t the most comfortable shoe to wear (for some, people don’t even know how to walk in them properly), it doesn’t mean that notion will stop women from completely wearing them.
Overlooking a pretty pair of stilettos is definitely hard to do, especially when many women consider shoes their obsession. But the health risks of wearing high heels for too long do have long-term side effects that cause the shortening of a woman’s calf muscle fibers.
Australian scientists studied 9 women who wore heels for over 40 hours a week for a minimum of 2 years and 10 women who rarely wear heels, and found out that for those that constantly sport the thin-ended shoe had changes to their foot and leg positioning. “In a person who wears heels most of her working week,” Dr. Cronin says, the foot and leg positioning in heels “becomes the new default position for the joints and the structures within. Any change to this default setting.”
It is believed that the large muscle strains that occur when one is walking in high heels are likely to increase strain injuries, as summed by Dr. Cronin, a postdoctoral researcher from the Musculoskeletal Research Program at the Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. It is not 100% the sole cause, but it definitely plays a crucial role in the shifting of the joints and structure.
Some Advice from Dr. Cronin:
- Try to minimize the amount of times you wear high heels, like once or twice a week
- Take off your heels whenever possible, like when you’re sitting at your desk
- Don’t wear such high heels, smaller heels are preferred
If you have any concern relating to orthopedic care, try seeking more information from professionals. If you are currently carrying health insurance, then it is easy to ask your doctor for a specialist if you do feel some foot pain. If you do not have health insurance or are looking to switch companies, you can enter your zip code below to acquire insurance quotes.
