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High heels and your health
High heels may complete a look, make you feel sexy and taller but have you considered the health risks of wearing them?
Women have been wearing high-heeled shoes for centuries in the pursuit of fashion. However, regularly wearing shoes with high heels can be hazardous. The biggest risk, perhaps, is losing your balance and breaking an ankle.
Wearing high heels interferes with your normal gait. They throw your weight forward, making it difficult to sustain upright balance. They force you to use a lot of extra muscular effort to keep from falling forward. Much of this extra effort is concentrated in the lower back, producing an exaggerated back arch, which can lead to back pain.
A Cape Town podiatrist warns that high heels can also result in a variety of foot problems, including metatarsalgia, which is pain in the ball of the foot. Another condition called Morton 's neuroma, which is 10 times more common in women than men, is caused by a thickening of tissue around a nerve between the third and fourth toes. It usually develops in response to irritation and excessive pressure such as the burden of weight high heels place on the ball of the foot.
Pointed-toe shoes and shoes that pinch could lead to other foot problems such as bunions, calluses and hammertoe, a deformity of the bones of the toe causing it to bend into a clawlike position. Frequent high-heel wearers may also develop a bump at the back of their heel caused by friction between the heel bone and the back of the shoe.
Buying high-heeled shoes
If you just can't resist wearing heels, follow these tips to help keep your feet healthy.
Do some basic leg-stretching exercises after wearing heels to avoid excessive tightening of the calf muscles and the Achilles tendons. Wearing high heels regularly over the years can cause these muscles and tendons to contract permanently, making walking in flat shoes or barefoot difficult.
"When your feet are flat on the ground, it's obviously a different position to when you're a few centimetres off the floor. When you're in heels, you immediately push your pelvic bone back and re-align your spine to avoid falling over. It's an artificial position that nature never intended. This is particularly bad with heels over 35mm long, as your body's balance becomes completely abnormal. With extended use of heels, you begin to change the functioning of your muscles and bones."
Research conducted by a team at Harvard University in the US reveals that there are many dangers associated with high heels. The study concludes that high heels, whether they're thick or thin, can cause problems in women's knees, ankles and feet. The same team also found a link between high heels and knee osteo-arthritis, a painful, degenerative joint disease characterised by the breakdown of cartilage surrounding the knee.
Did you know?
Have you ever wondered why shoes have high heels? When shoes were first made, shoemakers made them flat, without a raised heel. Because normal walking requires that the heel of the foot should strike the ground before the toes, these early shoes used to wear out quickly at the heel, prompting shoemakers of the time to reinforce the heel and so creating heeled shoes. As fashion has evolved, so heels have grown too, sometimes reaching impossible heights.
- Tip:In order to check whether your shoes are the correct fit, stand barefoot on a piece of paper. Ask someone to draw the outline of your feet. Place your shoes on the outline and see whether or not your shoes fit properly
Where problems lie Qualified Johannesburg podiatrist Annette Thompson is currently writing her Master's thesis on different types of foot shapes and suitable shoes. She's adamant that women need to be more careful about the length of heels they choose - heels that are too high can cause irreparable damage to their feet. "High heels can either induce or aggravate foot problems. The primary change that takes place is in the wearer's centre of balance," explains Annette.
Hammered feet
Thompson supports this view and in her research has found many problems caused by the extended wearing of shoes over 35cm high. "When wearing heels, you have to walk in a way that causes your Achilles tendon to shorten and when you aren't wearing them, you're most liable to injury," she expounds. "In flat shoes you're forcing this now shortened muscle to elongate, which can lead to shin splints and Achilles tendinitis."
Secondly, Thompson lists over-pronation and hammer toes as other unpleasant problems that can arise. "Over-pronation is when the framework of the foot begins to collapse, causing the foot to flatten and adding stress to other parts of the foot. Hammer toes are the result of clenching your toes to hold onto the shoe. If you hold that position long enough, you end up with toes that curl up into a hammer shape."
High heels and ill-fitting shoes can also cause the formation of a bunion, a painful bone and tissue growth which manifests as an ugly bump on the side of the big toe. Bunions need to be removed surgically and, if left, untreated, can deform the foot and toes.
Why do it?
Thompson concedes that heels are more feminine and elegant and are an integral part of making a statement. "I love heels," she admits. "As a woman I definitely feel sexier and more attractive when I'm wearing them." She stresses, however, that the damage caused by heels can be severe.
"There's no reason to continue wearing shoes that do your body harm. It's just not acceptable to have corns or calluses, or not feel comfortable wearing flats that accommodate your feet in their natural shape. If your body's saying 'no', it's saying 'no'!" she says.
Sean Pincus, a Johannesburg-based podiatrist, advises young women who doubt the negative impact of heels to speak to their grandmothers. "When you're young, you're prepared to suffer for your beauty. As you age, the problems will become more apparent and severe. You'll be damning the very heels you used to love so much!"
Sean Pincus, says many patients come to him with a common ailment associated with heels - lower back pain - but the dangers are far worse. "The worst-case scenario is the development of arthritis anywhere from the toe to the spine. Depending on the severity of the arthritis, it can be fixed through a podiatrist, physiotherapist or chiropractor. In severe cases, joint replacement might even be required. The problems are cumulative and aren't always visible to the naked or untrained eye. With every step you take, you're stressing a joint and if you continue doing something your body doesn't enjoy, there'll be consequences."
