Whether you consider yourself a high heel expert or absolutely need to be in flats on your nights out, we all know the struggle of walking in heels. Your favorite pair of pumps will definitely glam up your outfit, but they can also affect your body in some not-so-hot ways.
Your Feet
If you slide on a pair of heels, you’ll feel the pain here first. When you’re wearing shoes with more support, your weight is evenly distributed. But once you’ve popped on those stilettos, much of your weight has shifted to your toe bones. As the pressure increases on the ball of the foot, it could cause them to shift and even result in chronic pain. The higher the heels, the more force there will be concentrating on your delicate toes.
Your Ankles
The Achilles’ tendons are the most important tendon in your leg—they serve to connect the calf muscles to the heel bone all the way down your foot to help facilitate movement and activity. The incline from high heels causes the Achilles tendons to shorten and tighten. Stiffer tendons make you more susceptible to injury and are also the reason why your ankles feel strange after you take your heels off.
Your Knees
We’ve all experienced the moments while wearing heels when you have to bend your knees to relieve some pain. Heels put a lot more pressure on your knees than you’d think. Your knees act as a shock absorbent in between steps and movement within your legs, and the altered posture of standing or walking in heels places excess pressure on the knee joints. Straining the cartilage and muscles surrounding the knee caps can result in osteoarthritis—chronic pain that results from the breakdown of cartilage in between joints.
Your Back
Heels not only add a couple of inches to your height to elongate your stature, but they also give you that bootylicious shape. Though this may help us look model-perfect in photos, the unnatural curving of the upper spine from leaning forward increases the amount of pressure on the lower back, resulting in intense back pain at the end of the night.
Wearing high heels on a regular basis can have damaging effects on your physical health. But if you do end up in heels for hours, it’s always a good idea to stretch your legs before and after putting them on. We know, heels are a girl’s best friend, but don’t cripple yourself for life over one night of ‘gram-worthy squad pics. Remember, everything in moderation!
by Jane Lee