Categories: Beauty & Style

High heels- A fashionable torment

High heels are the fashion now, and its usage by the women have slowly increased in the recent years. Some workplaces make it a customary practice to wear heels as one of the rules in the dress code. The history of heels dates back to the 1400s where the fist known heel known as Chopines worn by the Venetian prostitutes and the wealthy empires in Italy and Ottoman to show their wealth that didn’t have to walk. Later it evolved to Lachets then Pompadour heels and then the Stiletto in 1953. Thanks to Roger Viver for inventing this wonderful shoes along with it brought many health ailments. Stilettos were actually worn by men on those days which evolved as a reason for heeled shoes for men. This is why cowboy shoes have heels. Doctors and physicians say that it is not bad to wear high heels but wearing them for too long will land you in trouble.

We all know the famous London-based Nicola Thorp who started a petition against wearing high heels as a part of work culture. Thorp a temporary employee had been sent home as she did not abide by the appearance guidelines of the company which required her to wear two to four-inch heels. Wearing heels can be a fashion but it has both short and long term problems for women.

Dr. V Ramnarayan, consultant orthopedic and podiatric surgeon in Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialist center, Chennai says that high heels are a common cause of joint pain, low back pain, and ankle sprain. In addition to that, women who wear heels are likely to develop shortened Achilles tendon. Achilles tendon is the band of fibrous tissue that connects the calf muscles to the heel bones.

He explains that while wearing high heels, 70% of our body weight is shifted into the ball of the foot which weakens the surrounding ligaments. This will result in ‘hot foot’ or metatarsalgia. Also wearing high heels exerts pressure on thighs and hip which increases the curve of your spine thereby causing back pain.

Also continuously wearing pointed toe shoes results in developing Hallux Valgus or Bunions, hammertoes, and even calluses leading to athlete’s foot.

So, what is the alternative?

Podiatrist suggests anything below an inch tall is suitable for wearing for long hours. They also recommend women to wear “fplatforms” which allows the pressure distribution evenly. Also, the material they suggest is leather or rubber and it is good to stay away from plastics, synthetic, and vinyl.

But the sad truth there are occasions where you are supposed to wear high heels and look tall. So in that situations, the podiatrists suggest to wear them not more than two to three hours. This is for those who don’t have any foot problems. For those with any foot problems then it is good for them to stay away from it. Also, if you are in a compulsion of wearing high heels to your workplace then make sure you do some stretching and strengthening exercises for your feet. One such exercise is that stretching the Achilles tendons, spreading the toes and rolling the feet over a tennis ball will be helpful, podiatrists suggests.

So, wear what is good for your feet as health is important than looking nice.

Thanks for reading. 🙂

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