A Real Pain in the Foot! Women and Their High Heeled Shoes
I do so love my high heels! I know I'd be better off wearing good, low-heeled supportive shoes but nay! I chose to wear 3, 4 and yes, 5 inch heels.
My 5 inch heels are killer, in every sense of the word. They look fantastic but are really hard to walk in. They are the kind of fierce shoes that demand you get out of your car, head straight to your destination and sit, (looking great!) for most of the night. But my 3 and 4 inch heels are an every day staple, not an occasional splurge. The only time I wear sneakers are when I work out although I comfort myself with the fact that I am always barefoot indoors.
A doctor once saw my shoes and said "you know you're gonna pay for that later?" as he nodded to the 4 inch heeled beauties. I said yeah, I know. (So what?)
But a new study published in Arthritis Care and Research indicates that I might REALLY pay for my beloved foot wear. I may love my high heels, but they don't love me back.
The Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife looked at thousands of foot exam records since the 1940s and found that the majority of women who wore high heels experienced hind foot pain. The footwear that caused the problems were high heeled pumps or sandals that did not provide support. Male records showed no such problems.
While men did report some general foot pain (20% of men), the percentage of women with general foot pain was 30%, in addition to the 64% of woman suffering from hind pain.
Shoes were given three classifications : good (supportive sneaker-types), average (work boots and rubber soled shoes) and poor (high heels and sandals and non-supportive shoes). Since women are the ones usually in high heels and non-supportive shoes for long periods of time (60% of women said they wore "poor" shoes compared with only 2% of men), it's little wonder that women are the overwhelming majority with hind foot pain.
You can read more in last month's issue of Arthritis Care and Research.
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Does a study like this make you rethink your relationship with your high heels?
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Hi Susan - Well, no, I don't have to rethink my relationship with high heels because I don't wear them. The only heels I have, which I rarely wear, are probably an inch high, and that's more than enough for me.
Most of my professional life has involved having to keep pace with mostly male co-workers in practical shoes going at a pretty fast clip. High heels just don't fit in with that environment. Outside of work I live in a warm climate where sandals, flip flops and other casual shoes are the norm, along with casual clothes.
High heels can be absolutely gorgeous to look at, but from a practical standpoint they can topple you over, slow you down, are often poorly made with inadequate support and wearing them leads to foot and back problems later in life. To me, they've just never been worth it, but if you want to wear them, go for it!
Best,
Pat
High heels rock! And if they have a platform, they can almost be as comfotable as flatter shoes! I go up to 5 and occasionally even 6 inches, to no ill effect. I wear mbt's and runners when I am casually out and about and working out. To me, they are the epitome of sexiness and womanliness and I feet a million times more attractive wearing them! In fact, I barely feel dressed without them.
Listen to your doctor. Just three weeks ago, I noticed a small bump on the top of my foot that just appeared to be a vein that had popped out a little bit but was more obvious than the normal vein. Well, it appears that I damaged a nerve in my foot from wearing heels. Yes, ladies...these delightful fashionable stilts are dangerous to the health of our feet.
I first noticed pain in my foot and then when I was in the shower shaving, I shaved over the spot which sent a shock wave effect to my big toe. I went to my physician about the pain since it didn't subside after about a week and a half and the doctor tells me that I really need to stay away from the heels. The pain I am experiencing now will go away on it's own but it will take sometime. I have since noticed there is some numbness around parts of the foot too.
This is still on-going so I will have to update this subject, but I have remained 5 foot 3 inches since this all began. I guess I will never grow to see 5 foot 6 inches and I am okay with that.