Studies Show

Yes, High Heels Are Bad For Your Feet

Surprise!

As you come home and knock off those stilettos, wincing in pain, you have to have a pretty good idea of the fact that it’s not exactly the best thing you can do for your precious feet. Here’s science to confirm, once again, you’re correct. The New York Times reported this week:

“It was obvious, as the scientists had suspected watching the woman during their coffee break, that the women habituated to high heels walked differently from those who usually wore flats, even when the heel wearers went barefoot. But the nature and extent of the differences were surprising. In results published last week in The Journal of Applied Physiology, the scientists found that heel wearers moved with shorter, more forceful strides than the control group, their feet perpetually in a flexed, toes-pointed position. This movement pattern continued even when the women kicked off their heels and walked barefoot. As a result, the fibers in their calf muscles had shortened and they put much greater mechanical strain on their calf muscles than the control group did.’

In case you missed that: even when you knock the heels off at home, your foot is still moving as if it were in heels, further damaging your bones and muscles.

So, let’s discuss, shall we? Are heels still worth it, given the likelihood of bunions, “shortened calf muscles,” and generally messed up feet? I’m not ready to ditch my pumps just yet.

TAGS: dangers of high heels | high heels bad for feet | high heels bad for you