Introduction:
It is only a classic pair of heels that we look for while wearing our favorite dress. This is because high heels do make us look more fashionable, but no matter how good we look in high heels, we are always relieved after kicking them off at the end of the day owing to the undeniable fact that they make us totally uncomfortable. Flip flops, sneakers and flats make us much more comfortable. High heels come with a huge set of complications that are not worth the price of the fashion.
Most common foot and ankle injuries are caused by the kind of shoes we wear. High heels are totally capable of damaging our feet and ankles. High heels have the potential of spraining our ankles too where one or more than one ligament in our ankle gets torn or overstretched. People who frequently wear high heels mostly get affected by sprained ankles.
Which Parts Of Our Body Do High Heels Affect?
Our ankle joints, Achilles tendon, balls of the feet, knees and back are the parts that get affected the most. The Achilles tendon might get shortened and stiffened with prolonged wear and the knees might keep bending constantly and get stressed out. The spine's ability to absorb shock also decreases with time leading to compression of the vertebrae of the lower back and back pain.
How High Heels Affect Our Feet?
Pumps, stilettos and other high heels are the kind of heels that cause foot injuries. Some of which are :
- Corns.
- Calluses.
- Hammertoes.
1. Bunions - Shoes that come with a narrow toe box are capable enough of causing bunions. High-heeled shoes with pointed toes tend to squeeze the tip of the toes together and compress the toes with the full body weight. Both high heels and shoes with pointed toes should be avoided as much as possible and can be worn for a short period of time.
2. Morton's Neuroma.
3. Plantar Fasciitis.
4. Forefoot Injuries - The surface area of our footfalls gets reduced by high heels for which only twenty five percent of our feet can come in contact with the ground. All the weight gets transferred at the front of our foot instead, which increases the risk of strained calf muscles, ankle joint pain and tiny stress fractures. These things cause arthritis later.
5. Arch Strain - High heels make us look tall and fashionable by giving us artificially high arches. For doing that they shorten the Achilles tendon which makes walking or even standing barefoot extremely painful.
6. Heel Pain - Heel pain can be caused by high heels in way too many ways. Sometimes there is bony growth like a "pump bump" caused due to the pressure on the back of the heel and plantar fasciitis due to uneven weight distribution.
7. Toe Injuries - Shoes that have a pointed toe makes the toe lie in an unnatural V shape that further leads to foot deformities like hammertoes, bunions and ingrown toenails.
8. Sprained Ankles - If the toes are lying in an unnatural position inside the shoe it can be difficult for the person to walk normally and maintain their balance because if the foot becomes numb and the heels get stuck the weight will shift sideways which might twist the ankle and get it strained causing immense pain.
9. Posture and Gait Issues - High heels make us feel good but impact our foot functioning. High heels completely alter the way our foot functions and affect the body mechanics of how we walk, stand and carry a weight maintaining a proper balance. This damage to the posture can impose unwanted stress on the knees, hip and lower back which further causes pain in complication throughout our body.
10. Secondary Injuries - For alleviating pressure on a sore area, often adjustments are made in the way of walking. These adjustments impose unwanted stress on the hips, knees, and back. This can put a permanent effect on the way we walk.
11. Fractures - Fractures too can happen while wearing high heels. The foot gets pointed down while wearing high heels that makes it easy to get sprained and the ankle gets turned. The higher the heel is, the more weight the body pushes forward. The person must lean back and use more leg muscle power for maintaining the balance. Higher heels also increase the chance of losing the balance that in turn injures the foot or ankle. Ankle fractures and foot fractures also require surgical correction at times.
12. Foot Pain and Stress Fractures - While wearing high heels the foot is designed in a way that they are pointed downwards and give an attractive slender look, but this position puts immense pressure on the ball of the foot and the toes bend to touch the ground causing a natural padding to move from the area under the ball of our foot, as a result of which an extra pressure gets added to the ball of the foot creating a condition called metatarsalgia characterized by intense pain at the ball of the foot.
How Can Injuries From High-Heeled Shoes Be Avoided?
One can save themselves from high heeled injuries by :
- Choosing a lower heel that are good for regular use and consider heels having platforms on the forefoot if they have to wear heels at all. This also increases the height leading to less distortion to the foot.
- Going for the perfect fitted shoes.
- Taking breaks from wearing high heels and wearing flats at times.
- Adding foam padding at the area the shoe rubs against the foot and opting for cushioned insoles so that the pressure on the forefoot gets eased.
- Using flats and heels alternatively.
Conclusion:
Wearing high heels can even worsen the underlying conditions like bunions and Morton's Neuroma, so it's always good to see a podiatrist if one is suffering from immense pain on wearing high heels and the pain does not subside on putting the heels off too.
