High Heeled Shoes and Feet
We seem to constantly battle with what common sense dictates to us about our health and what we actually do. We exercise, but we also sunbathe. We eat large salads instead of dinner, but snack on high-calorie, high-cholesterol junk foods.
This strange habit extends down to the toes, or at least the toes of many women. Just ask the podiatrists who do a brisk business in repairing feet wounded by the fashion industry’s love affair with high-heeled shoes.
“The current trend in fashion is very bad for women’s feet,” said Dr. Burchfield, founder of Dr Foot.co.uk. “Excessively high heels combined with very narrow toe box create serious and painful foot problems.”
Some women delude themselves by wearing round toed shoes but forget to mention the five inch heels, which negates any benefit of the toe box. Likewise the popular summer thong sandals offer no support to the feet.
“Flip-flops can be very damaging to feet,” Dr. Burchfield said. “They are completely flat and offer no support or protection,” they are also prone to be stood on or being caught on something.
Podiatrists agree that the best shoes for healthy feet mimic the foot’s natural shape, while offering support in the arch and a flexible sole underneath the toes, the way most athletic shoes do.
“A good shoe has a relatively low heel and rounded toe box,” Dr. Burchfield said. “A broad toe box made from a soft upper and ideally should have laces for a secure fitting.”
An elevated heel lifts the foot out of its natural position and shortens the achilles tendon. Such shoes also push the weight of the body forward disproportionately onto the ball of the foot, which in turn upsets the stabilising mechanics of the foot.
“High heels have a narrow area of contact and they point the toes downward, which puts the foot in an internally rotated position and makes their wearer more prone to spraining an ankle,” Dr. Burchfield said.
High heels can also lead to back, neck and knee pain as the result of a change in the stabilizing mechanics of the foot.
“Wearing shoes that inhibit the natural functions of your feet can lead to very serious problems,” Dr. Burchfield said.
In addition, fashionable shoes that try to convert the foot into an ideal form, with the toes narrowed or tapered to a point, often require cramming the foot into less space than it would normally occupy.
Conditions that poor fitting footwear can cause include:
• Bunions
• Corns
• Hard Skin
• Hammer Toes
• Overlapping Toes
• Ingrown Toe Nails
• Neuroma
• Heel Pain
• Arch Pain
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