The Cardiologist's Wife
The Cardiologist's Wife is a blog dedicated to better health by sharing recipes, fitness tips and health information in an easy to understand format.
High Heel Pain
[ Post by Lisa Tedder ][ Post on June 19, 2013 ][ In Medical and Health Information ]
Not a new subject for me but one dear to my heart – foot problems caused by wearing high heels. Last week, ABC did a short piece on the price women pay for those high heels we all love. I am a living testament to foot pain caused by high heels. In my foolish youth and up to not so very long ago, I wore high heels on occasion, like every fashionable woman. But one bad pair of ill fitting shoes pretty much ruined high heels for me forever. By the end of the evening, the pain was so bad, I took them off and only put them back on to walk across the icy cold pavement to the car. Although they were brand new, I got rid of them immediately but unfortunately, that didn’t end my problems. I am not alone. In the ABC news story, an online survey reported that 37% of women walk home barefoot because their shoes hurt too much and 43% have worn high heels even if their feet hurt.
We are doing ourselves more harm than we realize by continuing to wear ridiculously high heels. Let me say right away that I am not advocating giving up our precious shoes altogether in favor of sensible man shoes! There does come a point when enough is enough. Many of the shoes on the market today are downright dangerous. You will not look sexy, beautiful, attractive, alluring or whatever if you fall down and plenty of women have done so. I’ve seen it happen at prom and around town. On TV, I saw the Prime Minister of Australia take a nose dive, not the dignified image she hoped to present at a state function.
You could end up with foot problems like mine. I have bunion issues, which means that my big toe has shifted in towards the other toes and the joint has become permanently enlarged. I often have a sharp burning pain shoot through my foot, sometimes when I am just sitting on the couch with my feet propped up. My podiatrist, Dr. Walter Hayes, says that when the pain becomes too much, I will have to have surgery to repair my foot. Until then, he has recommended wearing lace up shoes to correctly support my foot most of the time. Flip flops and other types of slide on shoes do not support the foot and allow it to work properly and can therefore, cause foot pain and problems over time. Here’s what most podiatrists recommend doing if you want to avoid permanent damage and surgery.
Limit wearing high heels. Don’t wear them all day, every day.
If you must buy high heels, try to keep them at 2 1/2 inches. Certainly avoid those 4 inches and above.
Wear a sensible shoe to commute to work or if you will be doing alot of walking.
Buy the correct size shoe. Have your foot measured at the end of the day for the truest measurement. Remember that you may not wear the exact same size in every brand.
Make sure you have plenty of toe room and don’t cram your toes into pointed, tight shoes unless you love the look of bunions.
So girl friends, do yourselves and those poor aching feet a favor. I know that we all want cute shoes to finish our “look” and that low heels can be hard to find. But it’s even harder to find comfortable shoes after you’ve damaged your feet the way I have. Consider yourself warned!
Upadated on June 19, 2013
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