DO HIGH HEELS HAVE ADVERSE PHYSICAL EFFECTS ON YOUR BODY?

DO HIGH HEELS HAVE PHYSICAL EFFECTS ON YOUR BODY?

Most women will tell you that after wearing high heels for only a short period of time, they start to experience some degree of foot pain.  That is understandable, but, does it have any further affects on the body?

The short answer to this is yes.  The foot was designed to act like a shock absorber the feet cushions your body against the insane amount of pounding it receives in a average day.  When you put the foot into a gorgeous pair of high heels, much of your body mass is shifted entirely to the balls of you feet and the delicate bones of the

toes.  

One study has concluded that by walking in 4" high heels, the pressure transferred to this area of the foot increased the pressure by

30%.  Because of this your natural gate is replaced by a staccato walk, which over a long period of time could cause bone and nerve damage and also blisters and ingrown toenails.

Wearing of heels causes you to bend your ankles in a unnatural position.  This unnatural body position restricts blood flow to your lower extremities which could cause spider veins.  It also also stiffens your Achilles tendon causing your calf muscles to flex.  When you do take off your high heels, you may experience calf muscle pain until the calf muscles loosens up.  Over a long period of time, your Achilles tendon may shorten to the point where wearing flats  heeled shoes or walking barefooted may be always painful.

The knee is also affected.  Walking in heels puts more stress on the inner part of your knees.  

Stress on any joint in your body will cause damage after a period of time which will eventually lead to joint damage and possible osteoarthritis.  This also affects your hips because you are forced to walk with your hips pushed forward adding unnatural stress to you hip joints.
And last but not least, it has an affect on your spinal column.   It stresses your lumbar erector spinae muscle resulting in the familiar pain in the lower back.

Does this mean that a woman should never wear high heels?  My personal opinion is that I think not.  There is a adage the goes, "...the key is moderation...".  As with all your body parts, you need yo give it a rest on a regular basis.  It has been proven that if you exercise, it is not good to exercise the same muscles and body parts everyday.  You need to give your body time to rest and heel.

This is the same with wearing heels.  Save you super high super sexy high heels for special occasions. 

Regularly wear different size heels, including flats.  Change your footwear during the day.  If you work in a office environment,  save your high heels for meetings, or lunch time, wear your lower heels walking around the office.

Remember, as discussed in an earlier blog, there are physical and emotional benefits to wearing high heels and these benefits definitely need to be taken into consideration.