High Heels: Worth The Health Risk?

A study released last week in the Journal of Applied Physiology revealed that women who habitually wear high heels are at risk for permanent physiological damage to their knees, hips, back and tendons -- and damage can be seen in women as young as 25 years old. That's because high heels force the wearer to place all of her body weight on the ball of the foot, compromising stability. This, in turn, makes her compensate for the instability by pushing her knees and hips forward and arching her back -- an unnatural posture. What's more, that changed gait remains even when the heel wearer removes her shoes. Reported the New York Times:

The scientists found that heel wearers moved with shorter, more forceful strides than the control group, their feet perpetually in a flexed, toes-pointed position. This movement pattern continued even when the women kicked off their heels and walked barefoot. As a result, the fibers in their calf muscles had shortened and they put much greater mechanical strain on their calf muscles than the control group did.

"This is very familiar, it's nothing new -- we learned about it in medical school," says Dr. Jacqueline Sutera, a doctor of podiatric medicine and surgery in Manhattan and New Jersey who sometimes wears heels. She adds that heels can also permanently shorten tendons and ligaments, including the all important Achilles' tendon, which connects the heel to the calf. "It happens rather quickly -- you might not be symptomatic, but I will say that with every step, you're causing damage."

So what's a shoe-lover to do? While no heel is safe, there are some strategies for mitigating the ill effects of a love affair with stilettos:

1. Alternate Heights: If your tendon doesn't get acclimated to the same height every day, it won't shorten to a specific height, according to Sutera.

2. Stretch: Every day you wear heels (or, alternatively, every day -- why not?), sit in a chair and use a yoga band or twisted sheet slung around your foot. Pull the band towards you as you stretch your toes forward.

3. Use Commuter Shoes: Especially city commuters walk a great deal on their routes to work. Use a supportive flat shoe on the unforgiving concrete of the sidewalk and save those four-inch show-stoppers for the absorbant carpets and cork floors of the office.

4. Choose A Wedge: Any heel that offers more surface area is putting less stress on the ball of the foot, so go with a chunky heel, wedge or even a platform.

5. Add Orthotics: Even an over-the-counter shoe insole can make a tottering heel more stable -- and that can help its owner walk better.

Comments

[Alina Smith]

11:04 PM on 02/09/2012

There are various health risk regarding your body when you are wearing high heels and it is essential to wear something that may have some harm as well as benefits too

[snickerdoodlecupcake]

07:11 AM on 01/30/2012

I'm a 6ft 3 female, and although it has its drawbacks being this tall (i.e. finding a boyfriend), at least I don't have to wear heels.

[noahmarder]

03:17 AM on 01/29/2012

Is Chinese foot-binding worth the health risk?
How about anorexic starvation diets?

If you need to jeopardize your own health to impress someone, that person probably isn't worth impressing. And this is coming from a man - one who realizes that humans evolved relatively flat feet for a reason, and that women should normally have a higher, not lower, percentage of body fat than men.

[Larax]

03:38 AM on 01/28/2012

Great Article, but you missed oute the damage high heels cause in the ankle and arch of the foot. Most people focus on the knees, hips and back problems, exercising to avoid damge there, and don´t realized the real reason for several problems are the feet, they ignored for too long.

[TomMartin]

02:10 AM on 01/27/2012

We should ban high heels just like we ban dangerous medicines, or food with poison in it.

[Hlynn]

11:18 PM on 01/26/2012

I really like high heels, but I don't go any higher than 4 inches. I just bought some great boots with 4 inch heels I couldn't resist buying. I won't wear them every day, but I just love high heeled boots and have a lot of them--all man-made materials; they have to be cruelty-free--and they are all beautiful. I feel different when I wear heels, with jeans or with a skirt, it doesn't matter. Can't quite explain it, but Iike the feeling. Most of the time I wear much lower heels and I'm almost always barefoot at home and during the summer, so I doubt I'll get any permanent injuries from high heels. But this article has good advice and I'm going to remember it.

[Trapster]

06:44 PM on 01/26/2012

No. No they are not!

[urkiddinme]

05:23 PM on 01/26/2012

Yes. Yes they are.

[Makeredhappy]

11:58 AM on 01/26/2012

I have one bad knee now, in and out of rehab for it trying to avoid surgery. But if I had to do my life over again, I would STILL wear the 4" heels of my youth, no regrets! When I was younger and thinner (and I'm NOT old and dumpy now, by the way!), I looked great in high heels. Men look at women in high heels, not in those ugly round-toe maryjanes! Men like pretty and sexy looking shoes, not loafers! And I wore them, got noticed and I'm sure it helped my career and my life in general! No regrets....always way good looking shoes. I now save the sexy sandals for evening and still get the compliments! Good shoes make good legs look better!

[hzlbyrn]

02:37 PM on 01/26/2012

I'd rather be able to walk when I'm older than spend my youth catering to the desires of men or a society that veiws a woman's worth on the quality of her legs. I'm not even twenty-five years old and I already have more self-respect than you. And no, I'm not 'dumpy.'

[urkiddinme]

05:24 PM on 01/26/2012

Okay, Buzz Killington. How are things at Lilith Fair?

[syds180turn]

11:37 AM on 01/26/2012

I love my heels and I'm not giving them up. What I do is wear ballet flats, or sneakers until I get to where I'm going, slip on my stilettos and cruise right along. I agree with the solutions to the problems with wearing high heels wholeheartedly. When I'm not trying to get my strut on, I also wear boots with flat heels. and sometimes I go barefooted at home. Some clothes just look better with a nice high heeled evening shoe or pump, so just be smart about when to slip them on.

[JTWallace]

11:13 AM on 01/26/2012

Ever seen a woman stumbling, and sometimes falling, due to those ultra-high heels? Don't ever go shopping in a crowded store behind one of those stacked heel women. You may get knocked down with her.