You are here: Home Page > Foot health information > Footwear > High heels - general information
What high-heels do to your feet:
Throw weight onto the ball of the foot, which may lead to callus, painful bunions, corns and deformity.
Push the centre of mass in the body forwards, causing the spine to bend backwards to compensate. This can lead to back problems.
The position of the foot in the shoe, and an often-narrow heel width can cause the ankle to become unstable, resulting in ankle sprains.
The calf muscle may shorten and tighten. Wearing high-heels for long periods - more than six months - may cause the calf muscle to become shortened all the time. The body compensates for this tightness in the calf-muscle by lowering the arch of the foot, or affecting the knee, hip or back.
Top tips for wearing high heels
Keep high heels for special occasions.
Save backless high-heeled shoes for evening glamour. Backless shoes force your toes to claw as you walk, straining the muscles if worn over a long period.
Calf stretches help to keep feet supple and keep a good range of movement. To stretch your calf and heel, stand facing a wall with feet hip width apart and slightly bent at the knee. Take one step forwards, and using your arms to lean against the wall, keep your leg in front bent and the leg behind straight. Both feet should be flat on the ground. Lean in towards the wall, as you do, you should feel your muscles stretching in your calf and heel. Hold and slowly return to a standing position. Do this with each leg about five times. Seek further help if you experience problems doing this exercise.
Vary your heel heights from day to day, one-day wearing low heels, and the next day slightly higher heels.
Vary shoe types.
For everyday use, keep heel heights to about 4cm.
Consider wearing shoes with a strap or lace over the instep rather than slip-ons. This will help stop your foot sliding forward, a bit like a seatbelt in a car.
Visit a registered podiatrist/chiropodist for advice. To find one, click here. You can take your shoes with you for specific advice on footwear.
Killer Heels: A Survival Guide
The ‘G’ Factor: Glamour, Glide, Guide and Give
Ask any woman…high heels are an essential part of the wardrobe – they make your legs look longer, bottom smaller and can convert you from a drab ‘shopper’ to a diva ‘spectacular’ and no podiatrist would dare to tell you otherwise!
However, ‘high’ heels can become ‘killer’ heels causing problems ranging from blisters, corns and calluses to serious foot, knee and back pain. But as it’s a party essential, rather than wagging the finger in caution, we are offering words of wisdom to help you and your feet.
Lucky for all divas, The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists have discovered the ‘G’ Factor of High Heels, offering four easy tips to help women enjoy wearing high heels without damaging their feet:
Glamour – Let high heels give you that extra ‘sparkle’ and save wearing them only for glamorous, special occasions. Try limit wearing them to around three to eight hours, and the height of heels, even for the most ‘A-list’ of events, shouldn’t be so high you have trouble walking! For everyday wear, heel height shouldn’t be more than 4–5 cm’s.
Glide – Don’t look like you’re rushing to catch a bus…. slow down, take smaller steps and shorten your stride when wearing high heels. Put the heel down first and glide! Not only will this minimise damage to your feet, but will give you that sexy high-heel wiggle! In fact, Lady Di wore low heels as her long legs and slender frame didn’t allow her to wear high-heels and glide elegantly.
Guide – Let the experts guide you into buying the right size shoe. According to leading podiatrist, Trevor Prior, 90 % of his patients wear shoes that are too small. Sizes vary according to the brand and style, so, be sure to have shoes correctly fitted and check that there is up to ½ inch of space in the shoe beyond the longest toe and that the shoes are not too narrow. Also, nip any foot related problems in the bud to avoid them getting worse and before they impact on your lifestyle - use the guidance of experts such as your local podiatrist for advice.
Give – Give your feet some extra special attention during, and after wearing high heels. Exercise the calf, heel and foot muscles by stretching them out to increase circulation and help them relax – you can even do it whilst standing at the bar waiting for a drink! Give your feet a moisturising massage when you get home (after bathing!) to again help your foot muscles relax and put back some of the essential moisture you lose wearing backless, or open-toe heels.
"Forget the X factor, look out here comes the G factor! says TV fashion expert and stylist to the stars, John Scott.
"All women love their heels, they look better, they walk better and most importantly they feel better.... so why do we abuse our feet so much? After all, we have facials and manicures and massages to look after the rest of our body so now lets all do the G's to look after our feet. Glamour...glide...guide and give will be the new mantra for the new year...so come on ladies put the spring back into your step and follow these simple but oh so effective tips.
Women’s love affair with high heels means they are never going to go out of fashion. However, following The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists’ four simple ‘G’ Factor tips means all women can experience and enjoy high heels!
But, if you are one of eight out of 10 adults who just can’t seem to ‘kick’ foot or joint pain, contact a podiatrist for advice.
London District 26-Sep-2008
Categories: Footnote
Story read 6194 times
