High heels can be hazardous to your health

by Joshua Giguiere GIG99001@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

High heels may look sturdy and elegant, but in the end they can lead a woman down a long road toward disaster.

In the name of fashion, women around the world slip their feet into elegant heels that match their evening gown or highlight their legs. But at what cost to their body? Is wearing attractive footwear worth the price of unhealthy feet?

Authorities from the Medical College of Georgia report that 80 percent of American women report serious foot pain sometime in their life.

Americans, mostly women, spend an estimated $2 billion a year on surgery because of problems caused by footwear. Maladies such as neuromas, hammer toes and plantar fasciitis are among the most common. Lower back, hip and knee pain can also be attributed to a poor choice in shoes.

Neuromas occur from a combination of factors, the most prevalent of which is a tight toe box (the area where the toes and forefoot rest in the shoe).

It comes as no surprise that 88 to 95 percent of neuromas are found in women, according to the Medical College of Georgia.

The elevated heel and tight toe box commonly found in formal high heels cause bones and ligaments in the forefoot to entrap and squeeze the nerve, causing it to swell. It can occur between any one of the toes, but it usually strikes at a juncture between the third and fourth toes. Unless the condition is treated promptly, permanent damage can result.

If these conditions are present, you might have a neuroma:

At the end of a long day you feel an intense burning, cramping, numbness or stabbing pain, especially in the ball of your foot and between the toes. As a response, you remove your shoes and massage your throbbing forefoot mildly relieving some of the tension, but the pain returns as soon as the foot is returned to action.

If this scenario sounds familiar to you, then you might want to visit your podiatrist. The problem might be easily solved by changing your footwear.

Treatment for neuromas include a change in footwear, steroid injections into the inflamed area and, with non-responding tumors, surgery.

Wearing heels over an inch tall can knock the body’s support structure, the skeleton, out of alignment, resulting in an improper gait.

A normal step should include a heel-toe approach. When planting the foot, the heel should hit first and roll toward the toe, setting up for the next push off and step.

Wearing tall heels diminishes the ability to walk using the heel-toe method and require a flat-footed gate.

The improper posture of the foot causes the impact from walking to be absorbed in the plantar fascia, a ligament on the bottom of the foot. The shock, instead of being passed from the foot, to the leg and lower back, stays in the foot causing micro-tares in the elastic-like ligament. The inflammation, if left untreated can become chronic and quite painful.

Most physical therapists agree that plantar fasciitis is one of the most difficult foot ailments to cure. For some it can take years to alleviate the pain, and for a few unlucky sufferers the pain will endure for the rest of their days.

Unlike most societal problems that face Americans, the number of injuries created by high heels is on the decline.

The current fashion trends in footwear include thick soles and wide toe boxes giving feet more room to handle the impact of the daily grind.

But, like everything in the fashion world which moves in cycles, the stiletto style six-inch heels are sure to return.

Making good choices in footwear is especially important for young people.

Robert Bruce, M.D., a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at the Emory University School of Medicine said that a poor choice in shoes is especially dangerous for developing bodies.

“Whenever I see adolescents, even boys, for foot pain, I evaluate their footwear — often finding the source of their complaints. Well-fitted footwear is important for comfort and general health of one’s feet,” he said in an internet interview. Most of the damage that occurs to feet is done in the formative years of life. Bones in the feet can be damaged with little or no pain to a teenager, but the aggravated bones and joints can later become arthritic and painful.

The advice of medical professionals is to wear shoes with a wide toe box and a solid mid-sole. Avoid heels that have a lift greater than one inch.

If there is no choice and three-inch heels are the order of the day, the suggestion is to wear them for a short period of time only. After that presentation or that important date, resume wearing supportive shoes with little or no heel lift.

Women for centuries have been told that they need to suffer in the name of beauty. With the variety of supportive shoes currently available to women in most women in many countries, the old adage loses its value.