I like how my legs look in heels so I wear them. Gel insoles, heel protectors switching to flip-flops on walks home – I’ve tried everything to make them more comfortable. Once, I found these cute roll-up flats at CVS that I wore on the commute to and from my internship. I tricked myself into thinking they worked.
Research for this article, however, forced me to stare straight at the bunion-ed, ankle-breaking, blistered truth. Heels deform your feet, flats are just as bad, and switching between the two is even worse.
Any gal who’s tried to dance in stilettos for more than thirty minutes knows that heels put killer pressure on the ball of the foot. In less obvious news, the Washington Post reports that the altered position causes spine and hip misalignment, and osteoarthritis in the knee and that tight-fitting heels lead to bunions, heel deformation, and hammertoes (ew!). If that weren’t enough, scientists have discovered that heels shorten the Achilles tendon, which leads to a heavy reliance on the calf muscle, making it easier to get injured during physical activity.
Think you can solve the issue by keeping flip-flops in your purse or buying a cute pair of flats? It’s a nice idea, but listen to this. Switching constantly from heels to flats treats your Achilles tendon like an overstretched rubber band (ouch) and wearing flats permanently leaves your arches with no support. Without arch support, the tissues on the bottom of your feet can get painfully inflamed. You can also begin to suffer from fallen arches, a condition that makes walking excruciating.
The solution? Wear sneakers every time you go out. Oh, and wear orthopedic shoes to your wedding, because you’ll probably be dancing a lot.
Just kidding. Most podiatrists recommend finding a well-fitted shoe that has about a one or two inch heel and a lot of support. Michele Colon, a podiatrist interviewed in a USA Today article, says if you want to go high, try to find shoes with a platform. For example, 4-inch heels with a 1 ½ inch platform are a lot closer to the target one-to-two inch heel height, than 4-inch heels without any platform. Calf stretches can help, too. The key is to keep your feet supported while maintaining the right posture and tendon-muscle engagement when you walk.
Sources:
http://www.ehow.com/about_4745077_effects-wearing-flat-shoes.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/05/07/GR2007050700484.html
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health/your_health&id=8233411
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/…
Image sources:
http://theberry.com/2012/09/05/all-heels-report-to-my-closet-immediately-33-photos-7/
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/scientists-look-at-the-dangers-of-high-heels/