Are High Heels Bad For Your Feet & Your Health?

High Heels are often considered to be a woman’s best friend for parties and other occasions. Not only because they add those extra inches to her height, but also for adding grace to the attire!

While they enhance the overall appearance of the lady and make her look alluring, the range of footwear exposes women to a string of serious issues affecting their health.

What Statistics Say About High Heels?

Researchers conducted a study on the hazards of high heels at the University of Texas Science Center at Tyler and came across some astonishing figures to raise an alarm of caution among the women who wear high heels.

According to the findings, it was noted that 72% of women wear high heels at some point in time whereas only 28% of women do not endorse the towering shoes and prefer wearing flats. Not just that, the results of the survey indicated that there is a gradual decline in the percentage of women who wear heels daily from 60% in 1986 and 50% in 1996 to 39% in 2003 and henceforth. It even threw light on the age group that wears heels the most, suggesting that heels are mostly worn by girls falling under the age group of 18 years to 24 years, followed by the ladies up to 49 years old. Only 34% of the women above 50 years wear heels in their daily fashion.

The study even presented statistics that stated that 77% of the women wear high heels for special functions like weddings and baby showers while only 50% wear them for parties. As a matter of fact, 33% of them wear heels for dancing while 31% actually wear them to the office. These figures are really disturbing; owing to the hazardous effects the footwear has on a woman’s body.

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How High Heels Affect Your Body?

From strain injuries to osteoarthritis, high heels open gates to a plethora of health issues for ladies who wear the towering shoes for long. 

Here are some problems that most women who were heels face:

#1. Back problems

Wearing heels for long hours will make women vulnerable to lumbar spine flattening, posterior displacement of the head and thoracic spine. This is because high heels cause you to lean forward and disrupt the alignment of the back.

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#2. Posture

Standing for long hours in that high–heeled position can lead to painful muscle fatigue and strain injuries.

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#3. Knees

Walking in heels exert a great deal of strain on your kneecaps, leading to the onset of osteoarthritis in some cases.

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#4. Muscle Fibres and Achilles Tendons

Wearing high heels could lead to shorter muscle fibers and a toughening of Achilles Tendons, reducing the ankle’s range of motion and increasing the chances of getting sprains and ankle twists.

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#5. Spine

Apart from normal problems like Calluses, blisters, bunions and ingrown nails, wearing high heels on a regular basis could also lead to Foraminal Stenosis; a spinal nerve condition that occurs when abnormalities block or reduce space in one or more foraminal. Its symptoms include shooting pain in the back, numbness, tingling, muscle weakness, spasm, cramps, and pain radiating from the hip to the legs.

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Solutions To The Problem Of Heels

Bidding adieu to the high-towering shoes is not going to be easy. However, one can always take precautions to ensure that health is not at risk just to meet with fashion standards. Here are some tips to save your body from the damage caused by that fashionable pair of footwear.

#1. Avoid wearing heels for long hours

#2. Stretch your muscles before and after you wear high heels.

#3. Avoid wearing heels that are 4 inches tall. Restrict yourself to heel less than two inches.

#4. The afternoon seems like the best time to shop for shoes as the feet are the largest at that time. This would save you from the discomfort of smaller shoes.

#5. Pointed toes shoes should be avoided at all times.

#6. Buy heels with leather insoles to ensure you do not slip.

#7. Carry a pair of flats at all occasions where you are wearing heels, so that you can change your footwear as and when you want.

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Well, now you know the effects of wearing high heels as well as some solutions to get rid of that pain. Do share your comments and opinion with us in the section below.

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