High Heels and Arthritis

Filed in archive Arthritis on February 28, 2007

Love those high heels? They make your legs look so long and shapely, and they're so elegant. Women's Health at Mayo Clinic warns:

Forced too often into the tight confines of the narrow toe box of your high heels, your toes have bent into an unnatural position. As a result, you've developed bumps and areas of thickened skin that rub painfully against your shoes. Are your beloved high heels the source of your foot problems?

High heels also cause others problems. They're hard on the knees as well as the feet. Women's Health Matters tells us:

High fashion does not come without a price. In addition to designer-label sticker shock, high-heeled shoes also seem to be wreaking havoc on the joints of women everywhere.

In fact, osteoarthritis - the most common type of arthritis - is seen more often in women than in men. And something as simple as the type of shoe one chooses to wear may be part of the reason.

Arthritis and foot troubles may be just the start of your problems. The family.com blog lists even more trouble ahead for the wearer of high heels, including these:

Podiatrists report an increase in the number of high-heel wearing patients that require bunion operations, callus and corn removals, and consults on generalized foot pain. And doctors say they are not surprised. They say wearing high heels changes the way you walk, by putting your center of gravity on the ball of your foot. The bottom line--doctors say, the higher the heel, the worse it is.

What's more, doctors report foot damage is the least of a woman's worries, extensive use of high heels can lead to lower back problems as well. Doctors say they can usually tell by the pelvic alignment whether a woman wears heels because her hip bones will be pushed up and will often complain of a sore neck and shoulders. But, high heel lovers take heart-doctors say you can take steps to ease your pain-without giving up your beloved Manolo's.