Dear women, you are beautiful and surely do fashion to beautify more but do not make fashion painful in any way. This is a custom in all societies that women wear high heels in some parts of their lives eastern as well as western parts of the world.
However, the matter of fact is wearing high heel shoes throughout the day or for long periods of time create stress and to some extend pressure on various parts of the body. As, the time passes, this extra stress can seriously affect not only knees, but also your hips, lower back as well as Achilles tendon.
In Daily Mail Australia, Sydney podiatrist Nicole Reilly advised that women have the habit of the 80/20 rule, where 80 per cent of the time they wear sensible and comfortable shoes on the other hand keep your highest heels for limited activities. Each human foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles and associated tendons – all taking tremendous pounding over the years. It is estimated that 75% of Americans experience foot problems in their lifetime, making it more difficult to get around and to exercise.
These are some proven health risks that heels could expose you to.
1 .Lower back pain
High heels are designed with fashion in mind and comfort is not considered, hence most heels are quite uncomfortable to walk in. Their design gives the body less support than running shoes, flats or even sandals. This takes the spine out of its normal position eventually, lot of straining and leading to lower back pains.
2. Constriction of blood vessels
It is observed that pain you feel walking around in heels all day, and the relief you immediately feel when you take them off, that is not only due to the strain but also the restriction of your blood vessels. Heels are designed to elongate legs and give them an appearance of elegance, this leaves little breathing room for your feet and the blood vessels within, generating blood vessels constriction.
3. Sprained ankles
Some times while walking in heels missed a step and had a “near-death experience” when your ankle twists? Moreover, in spraining, the injuries could vary from broken ankles, bruised knees, elbows, and even concussions. Nairobi alone has uneven streets, irregular pavements, stony streets, and so many more external factors that wait for an opportunity to take advantage of your pointy heels and let gravity do its worst.
4. Curvature of the spine
High heels cause imbalance and this leads to the spine bending unnaturally. Heels make the spine push forward, arching resulting spine and hips out of alignment as a result cur
5 . Muscle pains and spasms.
It is our common observation that heels cause strain on muscles at the back of the calves, lower back and eventually cause them to shorten. This increases the pain experienced in these areas after the strain of wearing heels. They may lead to painful leg cramps and spasms if persists long.
6. Risk of osteoarthritis.
This is a medical problem where the joints are inflamed due to cartilage degeneration. Wearing high heels that are 3 1/2 inches or higher can increase your lifetime risk of osteoarthritis, a leading cause of disability in women.
Following considerations have been adopted while chosing heels:
- Always choose shorter heels or preferably flats more often.
- If desirable to wear heels, pick ones that are less than two inches tall with a wide heel base for stability and comfort.
- Use insoles to reduce impact on your joints;
- Be sure your shoes are the right size so your foot doesn’t slide forward
- Be sure the shoes you choose should not exert even more pressure on your toes
- Try to pick a shoe with cushioning in the front and a wide enough toe box to let your toes wiggle
- Avoid wear heels on days when your schedule includes lots of walking or standing;
- Alternate your shoes. Avoid wearing high heels all day by wearing flats during commute times; and
- Periodically, stretch your calf muscles and feet every day.
In Karachi, Pakistan, survey on the High Heels: Health concerns has been conducted by the author among women between 16 to years in 500 women and found very depressing results in terms as they have medical complications for long use of high heels. Future prospectives include print and electronic media education for the mass.