Heels. Why do women wear them? Do they make our legs look longer? Butt bigger? Men. What is so attractive about a girl wearing heels? Is it the way she wobbles while trying to walk from point A to point B? Or is it the excruciating look of the arched foot? As a woman, who admits to succumbing to the trend of wearing heels, I wondered…what is this doing to our bodies? A pair of shoes that makes balancing, walking and holding one’s self up a painful experience, there must be something wrong.
There is general consensus that one of the images of “beauty” is wearing high heels. Workingwomen as well are struggling with this issue. Women workers experience a social pressure to wear high heels because that also constitutes as looking “professional.” There was a survey done of 200 women who voiced consistent complaints of leg and back pain from wearing high heels. They tested three different heel heights. They showed that the higher the heel the increase of stresses on the feet and lower back. Sprained ankles and lower back pain is due to the heels putting on wanted stress on the spine. Wearing heels increase spinal curvature, which leads to these pains. Heels also cause leg pain due to the weight that is added on the toes. The researchers concluded that wearing high heels should be avoided.
One of the big consequences of wearing high heels on a regular basis is knee osteoarthritis. Researchers studied 20 healthy women who stated that they were comfortable wearing high heels. They tested each women and the difference in their bodies from walking barefoot and walking with the high-heeled shoes. Data showed that while the women were walking in heels there was an increase force on one of the third joint in the knee (patellofemoral joint). There was another increased stress on the medial compartment of the knee, which is the cushion between the bones and the joints in your knee (very important part of your body!). It was concluded that there was a 23% increase of stress on one’s knee from walking in heels than barefoot.
Beauty is not pain! There is no reason to put oneself in a painful state when it is still possible to look fashionably forward!
If you’re still the kind of girl that’s wants to keep looking fab with a pair of heels. Here are some tiny tweaks you should make to your choice in heel!
Personally, I know that I struggle with walking in a new pair of heels before a big events. I have to wear them around in my house, as uncomfortable as that sounds, in order to not make a fool of myself when I have to wear them out. One article that really helped me was called How to Walk Better In Heels, in 9 Easy Tips. This article showed me that it’s okay to take the process slow, and get adjusted to my heels at my own pace. So to agree with your article, yes, heels do indeed hurt. There definitely are consequences with wearing them, and beauty is something that can hurt. However, in this scenario, the pros outweigh the cons.