This week, as I have been highlighting African-American shoe designers, I started to think about the many pairs of shoes that I own…that literally abuse me if I attempt to walk in them for more than 5 yards. So it comes as no shock, to learn that wearing stilettos and pointy toed shoes, can be bad for your health.
But they’re cute.
“Wearing high heels is especially stressful on the joints of the foot because all of the body’s weight rests there; the foot is then forced into a narrow, pointed toe box, compounding the problem.”
– source: http://www.feetnet.com/
“The wearing of high-heeled shoes is a prime example of women inviting foot problems. Doctors of podiatric medicine see no value in high heels (generally defined as pumps with heels of more than two inches). They believe them to be biomechanically and orthopedically unsound, citing medical, postural, and safety faults of such heels.
They know, for example, that high heels may contribute to knee and back problems, disabling injuries in falls, shortened calf muscles, and an awkward, unnatural gait. In time, high heels may cause enough changes in the feet to impair their proper function. Most women admit high heels make their feet hurt, but they tolerate the discomfort in order to look taller, stylish, and more professional. In a Gallup Poll, 37 percent of the women surveyed said they would continue to wear high heels, even though they did not think them comfortable.”
– source: http://www.apma.org/topics/womens.htm
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, and it’s twice as common in women. “The use of heels is a likely reason,” Kerrigan speculates.
“Just wear flats,” Harvard researcher D. Casey Kerrigan, MD, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, tells WebMD. “I am strongly against wearing heels at all,” says Kerrigan, who never wears them.” Throw them out,” she says, adding that women shouldn’t be victims of fashion.
– source: http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/31/1728_76613
But they’re cute.
“Podiatrists say high heels are “biomechanically and orthopedically unsound,” citing medical, postural and safety faults of such heels, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association. Among the litany of problems to which stilettos and their sister heels contribute are knee and back problems, disabling injuries in falls and shortened calf muscles, not to mention an awkward, unnatural gait.
Heels force the thigh muscles to work harder, putting extra strain on the knee joint and tendon that runs from the knee cap to the thigh bone. Compared with walking barefoot, high heels increase the pressure on the inside of the knee by 26 percent. Over time, this increased pressure on the knee can lead to osteoarthritis.”
