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.
Tell Us
Does a study like this make you rethink your relationship with your high heels?