Why High Heels Are Bad For You

coolblues · Nov 14, 2012

Though high heels are very fashionable and make you look taller, the price that you may have to pay in the long term is not worthy. High heels can affect your posture, gait and can cause problems with balance and your back. It can also damage the muscles and tissues near the knee joint leading to an early osteoarthritis! Women who wear high heels regularly experience lower back pain, heel pain and prolonged physical exhaustion. Human body is not designed for such an improper alignment and hence your body struggles every time you wear those trendy heel shoes. Podiatrists advise a heel up to a maximum height of 1.5 inches to wear only on occasions.

Here are few safe tips when you want to wear high-heeled shoes for longer periods.

Never attempt to exert pressure on your toes when you are wearing high heels. Avoid running, dancing or jumping while wearing heels.

Wear heels and flat every alternate day to avoid stress on your feet.

A square heel provides better support than a narrow heel.

Make sure there is enough padding material on the shoe, which will give you better cushion support for the feet.

Remove your heels whenever possible and stretch your feet to relax those muscles.

So, do you prefer looking good or feeling comfortable while walking?

Drop in your thoughts and opinions…

rkk1 · Nov 14, 2012

This is great info! I am a medical student, and routinely I see women coming into the clinic with back pain. And I suggest to them that their heels may be causing it (or at least aggravating an existing back issue), which is hard for them to believe.

When I was a teenager, I used to love to wear heels, as I found them quite fashionable. I am only 5' 1.5" tall. But after I realized the problems with heels, I have now started to embrace wearing flats. Here in the US where I live, some women are so tall. I might be standing next to a 5' 10" woman next to me. I try not to mind at all. I am just trying to reduce my weight and be slim, so at least my body would look nicely proportional. My husband had bought me some nice pairs of fancy sandals from India. They only have about 1" of a thick round heel. I only wear those for parties, but regularly I wear flat shoes on a daily basis, even for my clinic work. Health is more important than appearances.

I used to get some back and knee pains myself. However, after wearing flat shoes and doing abdominal exercises (as weak abdominal muscles can cause back pain), my back pain is gone. I feel very good about this.

Anitap · Nov 14, 2012

Wearing high heels causes prolapse of the uterus.

And there was one study that concluded that it could increase chances of dementia. (read it long back. So will not be in a position to provide the link).

Mahajanpragati · Nov 23, 2012

hi,
we women are made to sufer in name of fashion.............high heels is one such torture......Read any article on looking sexy ,confident or fashionista one suggestion will be wear high heels........

i am barely 5 feet tall & wear heels only in parties........this time i stopped even that & believe me many ladies asked me why i don't wear them .........

we live in Africa & African ladies really have this craze for high heels............for the swimming parties or garden gala of our playshool kids you will spot nearly all of them going around in high heels...........i wonder how they manage running after the active kids all day round.

but,still heels look good with sarees.........

rkgurbani · Nov 25, 2012

Very true about high-heels. No matter how fashionable and trendy they may be, but they do a good damage to our leg muscles in the long run.

I used to be very fond on high-heels and always watched with envy when I would see my friends and colleagues tip-toe on them, bu even after purchasing a pair or two, I actually never mustered the courage to wear them. Today I am glad I never did that!

mimur9 · Nov 26, 2012

High heels are very bad for health. Apart from bringing back pain they also cause sprain if the foot twists.

External artificial beauty in any matter brings more harm than the good look it gives. One shoudl be confident about the way god has created them.

sshradha32 · Nov 30, 2012

All these years, i had always preferred flats. I have recently bought 2 square heels. These days whenever there is an important client meeting I wear them. When I am back at office i remove them and stretch my feet. I have also kept spare flat handy just in case I feel uncomfortable.

I believe we can try wearing heels in moderation. I agree that our confidence shouldn't be based on wearing heels but in if it adds to your confidence on special occasion we shouldn't shun it. Whats say ladies...