Telling a woman not to wear high heels is like telling a child in kindergarten not to play – its inevitable. We neither telling you to stop or burn all the ones that have dominated your enviable closet, but isn’t it good to be aware of the health risk? Over the years you must have head or read bunch of reports from doctors of all sorts, backed by scientific research, advising women against wearing the footwear on a regular basis – to avoid certain damages. Well, that is to say we’ve been overlooking, right?
There are a number of reasons why women should be careful with wearing heels, especially over a long period of time. To ensure all of us ladies know a thing or two about the dark side of the footwear, we tapped into the most prominent research done on the topic (after all ignorance is the worst disease).
- Heels higher than two inches often contort your posture: Any heel above two inches causes your foot to slide around in the shoe, redistributing weight in an unnatural way.
- High heels reduce your ankles’ active range of motion: The shape of high heels causes the calf muscle to shorten and the Achilles tendon to stiffen. Over time, this leads to less flexible ankles.
- Wearing high heels can shorten your calf muscles: The calf muscle tendon is shortened when you wear high heels, thanks to the heightened foot arch that results from lifting your heels off the ground.
- Ultra-high heels can cause hairline foot-bone fractures: When you wear heels, all stress is placed on the ball of your foot. This can damage the surrounding bones and even cause hairline fractures over a long period of time.
- High heels increase risk of osteoarthritis of the knee: Wearing high heels has been linked to an increased risk of osteoarthritis, especially since it is a more common condition among women than men and because women wear heels more often than men do.
- High-heels wearers have a higher risk of muscle strain: High heels decrease muscle efficiency in walking, creating a greater risk for muscle stress and strain.
- High heels alter spinal alignment, straining your lower back: Because heels cause an unnatural position, bodily alignment is thrown off and more pressure is placed on the lower back.
The only solution is, try as much as possible to minimize wearing it frequently, and as Who What Wear pointed out, do plenty of foot stretches after you take them off. Plus, wearing flats can help relieve some of the problems caused by wearing heels.
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