Are your high heels giving you back pain?

High heels have been deemed as an accessory to your wardrobe by society and the insurmountable influence of the fashion industry. Your choice of shoes provides you an ideal opportunity to express yourself in a subtle or grandiose manner. The choice of colour, material, style, and heel height are deliberate picks that tell a story about you!

Wearing high heels may be fashionable and make you feel taller and better about yourself, but they come with a high price!

High heels can cause a myriad of foot, leg, and back pain, whilst impairing stability and increasing the risk of injury.

If you have ever stumbled of fallen whilst in high heels, then you already understand how they can throw off your center of gravity. Understanding how high heels may affect your back can provide an added incentive to take precautions whilst wearing this type of shoe!

What happens when we walk?

As you walk, your feet strike the ground, acting as shock absorbers for the rest of the body. Wearing shoes without adequate support can result in greater wear and tear on your muscles and joints as well as giving an  unnatural movement when you walk.

Here are five ways wearing high heels can affect your body: –

1. Back

The normal C-curve shape of the back is meant to function as another type of shock absorber, reducing the weight-bearing stress on the spine and pelvis. High heels cause the low back to flatten whilst forcing the mid back into an exaggerated curved position.

To compensate for this, you will need to lean forward to release some of the pressure on your back. Poor alignment, will, invariably lead to the overuse of the back muscles and increase the risk of chronic back pain.

2. Hips

The hip flexor muscles are located on the upper front of your thighs. Wearing these type of shoes forces them into a permanently flexed position. The chronic use of these muscles in this way can cause them to shorten and contract.

Contraction of the hip flexors can lead to the progressive flattening of the low back and the development of both low back and hip pain.

3. Knees

Wear and tear in the knees is much more common in women than in men – and much of that blame can be placed squarely on the use of high heels. These types of shoes increase the distance from the floor to the knee causing excessive knee rotation and compression.

The persistent flexed position of the knee will cause the shin bone to turn inward. This altered position causes the compression of the inner knee, a common site of osteoarthritis.

If you already have osteoarthritis, you would be better off avoiding these types of shoes altogether or risk the acceleration of joint damage and malformation.

4. Ankles

High heels limit the movement and power of the ankle joint. The calf muscles are shortened due to the excessive height, causing them to lose power when trying to move the foot forward.

This altered position of the ankle can also cause the shortening of the Achilles tendon. Over time, a common consequence of this is an inflammatory condition known as insertional Achilles tendonitis.

5. Feet and toes

When the foot is placed in a downward position, pressure will be placed on the bottom portion of the forefoot. This pressure will increase in accordance with the height of the heel.

This increased pressure can also cause pain and foot deformities such as bunions and neuromas. It can also alter the alignment of the Achilles tendon and lead to a condition known as Haglund’s deformity – a bony enlargement of the heel.

Wearing this type of shoe will also cause the tendons and ligaments that support the arch of the foot to tighten and can lead to pain in the arch of the foot, a condition called plantar fasciitis.

Your toes will be forced into the toe box of the shoe by the sheer force of gravity. If the toe box is narrow, your toes will be pressed together causing the inner and outer toes into an abnormal fixed position known as hammertoe. Even if the toe box is wider, the pressure against the toes and skin can lead to unsightly corns, calluses, and blisters.

On a final note ……

As long as high heels remain a fashion statement, it is unlikely we will see women throwing away their Jimmy Choos or Manalo Blahniks anytime soon, so you need to lessen the damage if you do choose to strap on a pair of heels:

• Wear high heels for special occasions only.
• If you want to wear heels for work, carry them in your bag and put them on once you arrive.
• During the day, slip them off occasionally and stretch to try to relax your feet.
• At all other times, wear flats with arch supports or insoles, lessen the damage by wearing heels no higher than 1 inch.

Next time you are out shopping for shoes, don’t just listen to your feet when making your shoe selections – listen to your spine – after all it’s holding it all together!!!

If you would like some further information or to speak to a member of our team please call us on: Hitchin 01462 420077 or Luton 01582 579687, alternatively e-mail us at: hitchin@healesclinics.com or luton@healesclinics.com