High Heels, High Risk
We all love our stilettos. They make us look attractively tall, add to our oomph, give us a feel of the runway and their sound simply adds to our charm. But, do these ‘high’ly prized possessions love us? No. They instead harm our body at various levels if worn on a regular basis.
- Ugly, hurtful corns
High heels give a heavenly rise to our heels but at the cost of increasing the pressure on our toes. Such constant pressure thickens and hardens the skin which eventually leads to the growth of painful corns and sores on the toes and between the toes. This is more frequent when our heels are pointy-toed.
- Beaten Heels
High Heels position our foot in such a manner that the heel bone becomes more prominent and becomes a constant victim of friction with the counter of the shoe. This can cause skin irritation and heel pain.
- Lower back troubles
High heels completely distort the levelled foundation of our feet, making them suffer an unequal distribution of our entire body’s weight. This naturally causes discomfort to our lower body which leads to chronic aches in the hips and lower spine.
- Osteoarthritis
“The most dangerous thing that high heels can do to us is cause knee osteoarthritis”, says Dr. Magma Bangera, Apollo Clinic Sarjapur, Bengaluru, who went on to explain, “Osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis that is not only painful but also results in tenderness and stiffness”. This happens because the tall, thin heels tend to strain the knees as our walking motion is affected.
- Stiffness
These pointy pairs also affect our calves. They shorten the calf muscles and hence result in lower leg stiffness which reduces our walking ability drastically.
- Pregnancy and High Heels – the worst combo
During pregnancy our muscles and ligaments become supple due to hormonal changes. In such a susceptible condition, the use of high heels will only increase our ankles and ligaments to damage more rigorously.
No wonder, the word stiletto actually means a dagger in Italian! So ladies, keep your feet away from these stylish daggers as much as possible to stay healthily pretty.