Going for stilettos? Think again..

Going for stilettos? Think again..

The perfect, pointy pair of 4-inch heels can make any outfit, but with this style comes much suffering. High heels have the stigma of being bad for health, but this barely stops you from wearing them occasionally and often daily. We often make sacrifices for foot fashion, but at what price? Studies have shown that these towering shoes can be costly in more ways than one, taking their toll on your spine, hips, knees, ankles and feet, while altering your posture and gait.

Here's how they affect different parts of your body—and why that's something you might not want to stand for anymore.

Feet

• Normally your feet act like weight-distributing shock absorbers, cushioning your skeleton from forces of body weight. These engineering marvels fail once you wear high heels and. ..ouch! You've shifted much of your mass onto the balls of your feet and your tiny, delicate toe bones.

• The higher the heel, the bigger the impact: One study found that four-inch stilettos can up the amount of pressure on the front of the foot by 30 percent or more.

• Your heel-to-toe transition becomes abrupt, forcing you to adapt to more awkward posture (which actually thought is elegant!!??). Walking like this all the time could usher in bone and nerve damage (not to mention blisters and ingrown toenails).

Ankles and Calves

Wearing heels forces your ankles to bend forward, a movement that could restrict circulation in your lower limbs. This could eventually lead to spider veins or varicose veins.

• Walking in heels also stiffens your calf muscles. You can work to offset this stiffness by flexing your feet—shoeless—several times throughout the day.

• Over time, stiletto devotees can develop chronically shortened ankle and calf tendons, making walking—even in flats—painful.

Knees
• The knee is the largest joint in your body. It's built to take certain amount of excessive stresses, but frequent high-heel use can put extra stress on the inner sides of the knees, fast-tracking the wear and tear that leads to osteoarthritis.

Hips
• To keep from keeling over in stacked shoes, you have to thrust your hips forward, arch your back, and push out your chest. That familiar sexy stance works the outer hip muscles and tendons hard (and not in a good way).

Back
• In order to be in line with heels, your spine needs to sway unnaturally, a process that stresses your lower back muscles. Result: sore lower back.

• As with your other body parts, your back needs a break. If you wear high heels one day, wear cushioned flats the next. Or save your spikes for special nights out—and never walk around in them for longer than a few hours at a time.

Comments

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