Dr's Casebook: Potential problems with high heels

They are stylish and look good, but high heels may not be all that good for your body if used long term. Photo: AdobeStockThey are stylish and look good, but high heels may not be all that good for your body if used long term. Photo: AdobeStock
They are stylish and look good, but high heels may not be all that good for your body if used long term. Photo: AdobeStock
​​When I watch Strictly Come Dancing I am always in awe at how adept the celebrities become after the relatively short time they have to train. There is so much to learn, but for the female contestants there may be the additional challenge of dancing with high heels. They are stylish and look good, but high heels may not be all that good for your body if used long term.

Dr Keith Souter writes: Over one in ten women wear high heels at least three times a week and a third of those have stumbled or fallen as a result of wearing them. Worryingly, statistics show that a third of women who regularly wear them experience permanent foot problems because of that prolonged use.

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High heels actually change the shape of the body. They make one taller and seem slimmer. They do take getting used to and women who are not used to them experience pain after only a few hours. On the other hand, women who wear them a lot often complain of pain if they have to wear flat shoes.

Research certainly bears this out. A team in Manchester a few years back recruited 80 women between the ages of 20 and 50 who had all been daily wearers of heels of two inches or higher for two or more years. When compared with women who did not wear heels, ultrasounds showed that the women who wore heels had calf muscle fibers that were 13 percent shorter, while MRIs showed the Achilles tendon, which attaches the heel bone to the calf muscle, was stiffer and thicker. This demonstrates that high heels will affect the shape of your body.

There are other problems with high heels. They tend to force the foot down into a narrowed space at the toes, which can result in a Morton’s neuroma, a painful tangle of tissue that can form between the third and fourth toes. And if the toes are too compressed there is also an increased chance of developing bunions and hammer toes.

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Another problem can be the development of Haglund’s deformity at the back of the heel. This is a painful swelling that occurs if back straps of high heels dig into the tissue around the Achilles tendon.

High heels are stylish and they look good, but you just need to be aware of the potential risks with continual use.

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