High Heels Still Hurt, Still Hazardous To Your Health

Evidence has confirmed what women have already known for years: uber-high heels are not only painful to wear, but also a hazard to your health. In other news, the sky is still blue.

A recent survey of 1,000 women done by the shoe company MBT found that more than 40% of the high-heel wearers have suffered an accident in them -- most often from falling over, according to the Guardian.

In addition to injuries due to clumsiness, Luisa Dillner writes in the Guardian that heels over three inches carry a health risk. Three inches?! That's what we call a kitten heel.

According to Dillner, heels surpassing the three-inch mark can "seriously increase the pressure on the ball of your foot (up to seven times with heels over 3in high) and affect pretty much every part of your lower body as you walk."

The uneven weight distribution from high heels results in a shorter calf muscle and a thicker Achilles tendon. This makes it extra painful when the foot is flat on the ground and results in sore and inflamed tendons, according to a study in The Journal of Experimental Biology. Bunions and hammer toes are some of the other painful effects from heels.

Previous studies have also proven the inconvenient truths of stilettos, as a similar study out of Harvard found an increased risk for arthritis in one's knees from reckless heel-wearing.

Sounds lovely, doesn't it? And here's the kicker: the guy you're trying to impress with those sexy heels isn't even noticing. Another study showed that men don't even take note when women wear those sky-high pumps.

In conclusion... we will continue to wear high heels.

Read more at Guardian.co.uk.

Comments

[Ashley L Coates]

03:11 PM on 12/21/2011

I love heels, but I recognize my limitations. Three inches is as high as I can go and still be comfortable. Shoes any higher are saved for special occasions that I have to walk less than a hundred steps in.

http://textbooksandtofu.blogspot.com/

[John Hazelton Smith]

03:08 AM on 10/28/2011

actually what Christian says is kinda true. All of the women that I have been with flex their feet during the BIG O instead of curling their toes. It pays to watch these things.

[Aitch Cee S]

02:33 PM on 10/27/2011

There is a difference between heels and the stilleto and the sky-high heel. Those don't look like they are made to walk more than a few steps in.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

01:58 AM on 10/28/2011

The "sky high heels" are platformes, and so are not as high as "stilletos" Or Ballerina heels(where the toe points down, because the heel is soo high,)Heels are just high! there are ugly amungst all, but real heels are a thing of quality and Beauty! Paired with glasses an average woman can be made Freakin Hot!

[Aitch5]

08:22 PM on 10/28/2011

yes, I love to look at them, I just can't wear them. i do wear the platform and MaryJane style with a bit of a chunky heel,

[j hawkins]

01:27 PM on 10/27/2011

High Heels...like putting a 5 pound ham in a 1 pound sack...

[European1919]

07:02 AM on 10/27/2011

High heels are not for walking. They're for looking good standing up, sitting and lying down. And if you can't walk on them - don't wear them. There'll be enough guys who fancy you flat footed and short-legged. Hopefully. The rest of us will keep our eyes peeled and our ears open for the telltale sounds and sights of sexy women.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:00 AM on 10/28/2011

I dance with women who wear heels all day long! a woman of quality can wear heels , or sneakers and dance all night long! Heels are fun In bed as well!

[PollyTics]

04:31 AM on 10/27/2011

I wear flats, flip flops, wedges and simply adore high heels, always have. There was a time when I not only wore them everyday to work (and walked a mile to work to boot) but could actually run in those 4" suckers.

Now admittedly at age 60, I'm not sporting them everyday or even once a week, but I still have an embarrassingly large stash of really hot high heels and will most likely wear them forever. I'm hooked!

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:00 AM on 10/28/2011

4inch are heels, not high heels!

[PollyTics]

02:52 AM on 10/28/2011

LOL, anything you say...

[libnlandofthelost]

02:35 AM on 10/28/2011

There is hope for me yet!

[PollyTics]

02:54 AM on 10/28/2011

ALWAYS!

[altohone]

11:14 PM on 10/26/2011

Sad that facts are ignored for a fashion sense so outdated. Nothing sexy about stumbling and walking like clowns.

[European1919]

07:00 AM on 10/27/2011

Nothing erotic about flats either.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:01 AM on 10/28/2011

funny men who cant dance are considered sexy! Men who are rich who cant dance or hold their liquere even more so!

[MarissaMC]

10:28 PM on 10/26/2011

yeah, no matter how painful heels are, they are so hard to resist...but I love my feet so alternate between heels and flats...most affordable and cute flats...After Flats :)

[AudreyLee]

09:24 PM on 10/26/2011

Flip flops, flats, and tennis shoes, people. That's the way to go.

[onwisconsin]

11:22 PM on 10/26/2011

flip flops are bad for your feet too.

[European1919]

07:04 AM on 10/27/2011

Rubbish. They're like walking barefoot - since when has that been bad for your feet?

[AudreyLee]

04:14 PM on 10/27/2011

But they hurt less. And I wear them seasonally.

[European1919]

07:03 AM on 10/27/2011

Way to go but not way to get laid.

[AudreyLee]

04:15 PM on 10/27/2011

No, probably not.

Then again, deformed feet aren't exactly the height of attractive.

[Dede Eagleburger]

09:19 PM on 10/26/2011

I love that there's an ad for Louboutins on this page!!!!

[reader1]

05:47 PM on 10/26/2011

Most shoe designers are men, do they hate women? Why are we wearing shoes that are three inches. Because, they make you look good, forget about comfort, it's about looking good. Well guess what, when you get 40 and past, you will be happy to wear flip flops because they keep you grounded!!!

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:06 AM on 10/28/2011

Please read, "The cruel Shoes" By steve martin! (yes the banjo playing , arrow through the head, been the host most on SNL till oct 1st 2011!

[Cinquopated]

05:33 PM on 10/26/2011

You guys are making me jealous. I LOVE high-heel shoes. I CAN'T wear them. I don't have long legs and thicker calves than most women (which means skirts are OUT) and the one time I did suffer myself to wear them I remember the pain shooting up my legs. I literally remember trying to "will" the pain into a kind of background noise, do a Zen mind trick on myself. Seems crazy, I know.
I wish I had the kind of legs people expect to see in heels and the ability to withstand more pain. Not even the Zen mind-trick worked!

[Gail Maxine]

02:10 PM on 10/26/2011

I wear heels to work everyday and I am a teacher. Today I am wearing five inch heels (Jessica Simpson) and they are very comfortable. Ive been wearing heels since I was in high school. I just like them and everytime I go to the doctor he says that my feet are fine and my legs are fine...... go figure

[Dede Eagleburger]

02:26 PM on 10/26/2011

Gail, I could have written the exact same post, right down to the Jessica Simpsons! I tell everyone I know that, the important thing is to get heels that fir properly, are well-made, and if you wear them everyday like us, and take care of your feet, you get used to them and everything balances out! F/F

[Oneandoneandone]

04:35 PM on 10/26/2011

I love the shoes too, but I'm not in denial. When we are in our 50s, we are going to have lower back and knee problems. I've already had bunions (the shoe forces your foot bones to do this).

That's just how it is.

[Kael Mc]

12:47 PM on 10/26/2011

I rock Danskos to work. Yah, that's right. Super sexified hospital-style clogs baby. And at the end of my shift, well, I still feel like crap, but hey, it could be worse. Oh, did I mention they are SEXY?

[onwisconsin]

11:25 PM on 10/26/2011

Naots. Try them. They are like walking on clouds. Expensive, but worth it.

[jneal11254]

11:07 AM on 10/26/2011

The REAL truth about heels? The higher and sexier they are, the less time you will actually have to spend on your feet.

[Dede Eagleburger]

01:51 PM on 10/26/2011

wow-never thought about it that way before..!

[jneal11254]

04:19 PM on 10/26/2011

OK, I confess, I am totally innocent and no dirty thought has ever crossed my mind. This comment was based entirely on what I have heard other men say. I deny that I have ever lusted after a woman in black stilettos. Ever. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

[Dede Eagleburger]

04:34 PM on 10/26/2011

You do that...!! LOL...F/F for your sense of humor :)

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:08 AM on 10/28/2011

How sad! Perhaps you are attracked to hospitol shoes? Granny flatts like the nuns wear?