High heels and health issues- Dr Ritesh Khokhar - Chandigarh

Most women own at least one pair of high heels, and many of them wouldn’t be caught without a pair of stilettos, pumps, or platforms.

But while you’ve probably spent plenty of time thinking about how your shoes complement your outfit, have you given as much thought to how they affect your foot and ankle health?

As it turns out, the effects of high heels go way beyond fashion.
Your heel is made of a single bone; it absorbs your weight and distributes it to the tarsal bones in your ankle. Your toes, on the other hand, are a collection of 21 smaller bones designed for flexibility rather than strength.

In short, your toes are simply not meant to carry your weight.
The Negative Effects of High Heels
Many conditions can claim high heel use as a primary cause, but we can group them into four major categories.

1. Foot Pain
Of all the negative effects of high heels, foot pain is usually the one you feel first.

But it isn’t just sore feet you need to worry about. When the ball of your foot is responsible for carrying your weight, you are more likely to develop blisters, corns, calluses, damaged or ingrown toenails, hammer toes, and even stress fractures.

2. Balance Issues
Do you remember how awkward you felt in your first pair of heels? It can be hard to balance when walking on your tiptoes. It’s especially difficult in stilettos, when the shoe’s heel is narrower than your foot.

When you wear high heels, your body’s center of gravity changes. And the higher the heels, the worse it gets.

Some of you may even have felt the need to practice walking in a new pair of shoes to become accustomed to the shift in your center of gravity.

Over time, you may be able to do this without any mental strain, but your muscles, tendons, and joints are still under the physical strain of walking in such an unnatural way. Furthermore, being off-balance makes ankle sprains, trips, and falls more likely.

3. Leg & Back Pain
Your feet aren’t just a way for you to get around, they’re the foundation for your entire body. And as any architect can tell you, when the foundation is compromised, the whole house is in jeopardy.

When you wear high heels, your lower body leans forward to balance on your toes, which means your upper body must lean backward to compensate. This posture places an excessive amount of stress on your knees, hip flexors, and lower back. Over time, joints can be pulled out of alignment.

If you wear high heels every day, your muscles and tendons (namely your Achilles tendon) can actually shorten and contract, making it difficult to walk—even in flats!

4. Arthritis
The unnatural gait and posture caused by walking in high heels can also cause pain later in life.

High heels put a lot of extra force on your knee and other joints. When these joints are forced to work harder, they wear down faster, causing osteoarthritis.

For more information consult our expert Dr Ritesh Khokhar at Fortis Hospital Mohali