How High Heel Shoes Can Damage Your Body
High heel shoes alter posture of your body. See how high heel shoes can impact on your body functions.
The Knee
Altered knee posture of walking in high heels places excess force on the inside of the knee – a common site of osteoarthritis among women. One study found that knee joint pressure increased by as much as 26 percent when a women wears heels.
The Calf Muscles
The Calf muscles contract and adjust to the angle of the high heels. Muscles may shorten and tighten.
Achilles Tendon
When the front of the foot moves down in relation to the heel, the Achilles tendon tightens up.
Morton Neuroma
Heel height and a narrow toebox can create a thickening of tissue around a nerve between the third and fourth toes, which can lead to pain and numbness in th toes.
Bunions
Tight-fitting shoes ca cause a bony growth on the joint at the base of the big toe, which fores the big toe to the angle in toward the other toes, resulting in pain.
Hammertoes
A narrow toebox pushes the smaller toes into a bent position at the middle joint. Eventually, the muscles in the second, third and fourth toes become unable to straighten, even when there is no confining shoe.
Pump Bump
The rigid backs or straps of high heels can irritate the heel, creating a bony enlargement also known as Haglund’s deformity.
Ankle Injuries
High heels impair balance; a wearer is at a greater risk of falling, which could lead to a sprained or broken ankle.
Metatarsalgia
High heels force the body’s weight to be redistributed. Prolonged wear can lead to joint pain in the ball of the foot.