HIGH HEELS AND BACK PAIN - ARE THEY RELATED?
The following article is w ritten by Michael J. Musacchio, Jr., M.D. HIGH HEELS AND BACK PAIN - ARE THEY RELATED? A widely held belief is that wearing high heels causes back pain. This thought process has become so widespread that it is simply taken as fact. However, this may not necessarily be true. The theory behind high heels causing back pain relies on the thought that wearing them causes strain in the thighs and hip flexors which forces an increased curve in the spine, and this increased curvature of the spine causes back pain. Having never worn high heels, I cannot say for whether or not this is true; but, from what I’ve read and experienced with my patients, I’m not so certain that this is correct. As a matter of fact, I’ve had several patients with back pain and pinched nerves tell me that specifically wearing high heels has helped relieve their pain significantly. So, when there is controversy and uncertainly, one must turn to the medical literature (and