High Heels -Women’s Hidden Vice

I once had a chiropractor that said if he were to divide the body in half by its importance, he would draw that line just above the ankle.  Your feet and ankles are like the foundation of a house.  Everything above the foundation is going to be affected. So if you build your foundation on high heel shoes, the rest of your body will be compensating for this vertical imbalance.  Now, let’s add on a pointy toe to this high heel shoes.  You not only have a vertical imbalance but now you have a horizontal imbalance.  With your toes pushed together you have an even smaller and less stable platform on which to stand.  

Did you know that an estimated 14,000 emergency room visits per year were related to high heel injuries?  That number dropped to around 6,300 in 2020, one of the few benefits of Covid Between 40-70 percent of women wear shoes that cause them blisters or foot pain.  Ladies, what are we doing?! Can you even imagine telling a man that in order to look professional and put together he needed to wear anything that would result in injuries, pain or emergency room visits?  There is no way he would ever do it.  Which begs the question, why do we?

Since Covid, I took a step back (pun intended) from my uncomfortable footwear.  I now use comfort as a bench mark for all my foot ware choices.  And I honestly wonder why I ever tolerated pain in the first place.

I have to admire the younger generation since they don’t seem to buy into the idea of wearing uncomfortable shoes.  My daughter got married in very comfortable running shoes!

I encourage all women to ditch the high heels.  Some women claim they need to wear high heels to look professional.  I’m going to call BS on that one!  High heels make you look thinner, taller and in some people’s point of view, sexy.  I understand  wanting to look thinner, taller and sexier, but this has nothing to do with looking more professional.  

It’s okay to want to look a certain way, but I think you should consider whether the occasion calls for that indulgence. Yes, I consider wearing high heel shoes an indulgence, like eating chocolate cake or drinking red wine.  It’s okay to do it, you just need to exert some moderation into the behavior. If high heels are your vice then you should follow a few guidelines to ameliorate the long term damage:

1.  Always bring a comfortable pair of shoes with you so you can change out of your heels as soon as possible. Even better is to wear the comfortable shoes and bring the high heels with you so you can wear them only when you absolutely need to.

2.  Stretch your feet and legs! Over time high heels shorten your calf muscles.  So you need to lengthen them.  You can do this by standing with half of your foot on a step and letting the heels stretch down or alternatively stand on the ground and place a wedge under your toes pulling them up.  High heels also push your toes together so you need to stretch your toes apart.  You can do this by putting  toe spacers between your toes.  You can do this passively  while you are sitting or lying down, or my favorite, in a hot bath.  You can also do this actively by standing and walking with toe spacers.  You don’t want to use them to the point of pain, so start out slow and work your way up. 

So, if you enjoy high heels, it's okay to indulge in moderation. Just remember your self care.  If you don’t like high heels, give yourself permission to let them go.  It’s actually quite freeing (and comforting)!