High Heels Shoes: The Negative Effects of Wearing Them

High heels are now inseparable parts of today’s fashion world. It is a popular fashion trend among women, and there are various reasons why they wear high heels. Some wear it to make a fashion statement, others to make them appear taller, and yet for others it is simply a style. Irrespective of your reason for wearing high heels, have you ever wondered about its health implications?

There are some health implications of wearing high heels, and these you should be aware of to help you consider the type of footwear you are to put on. High heels are usually 2 to 6 inches high and the effects associated to constant use of high heels are related to the height, the higher the heel, the more the problem.

Let’s look at some of the negative implications of wearing high heels:

•      The Body: The spinal cord supports the body and helps it to keep an erect posture, while the lower body helps you to stand and walk normal. The body becomes a little curved and the normal posture is disrupted when you wear high heels. When you wear high heel the lower part of your body leans forward due to the downward pointing position of the foot. In order to maintain balance this will force you to adjust the other part of your body by making the upper part to lean backwards, thereby disrupting your body’s normal posture.

•      The Back: The forceful leaning forward of the body from wearing high heel can lead to shortening of the hip flexor muscle leading to contracture. If this happens it leads to flattening of the spine resulting in back pain.

•      The Knee: The knee is normally kept straight when you walk. But, the knee posture becomes deformed when walking in high heels; you walk around with bent knees. Constant use of high heels can cause Osteoarthritis a chronic disease of the knee joint.

•      The Feet: The increased pressure put on the fore foot due to constant wearing of high heels can lead to foot deformities such as bunionettes, hammer toes, bunions, and neuromas.

     In the fashion world of today it is true that high heels have become an integral part of it, and will be a bit hard for some fashion enthusiast to give up their high heel fashion style. If you belong to this class, here are some tips to guide you in wearing high heels:

•      Wear open toe high heel shoes that do not crush the toes of the feet, allowing movement and relaxation of your toes.

•       Select larger than usual size, and use heel cups in the back of the shoe to get a fit that is comfortable and better.

•       Wear high heels on occasions that do not require standing for long time.

•       Wear shorter heels of 1 to 2 inches high to avoid many problems.

P.S Take a look at these women casual shoes, and take strains off your heels