(HealthDay News) — High heels may turn heads, but new research shows the long-term cost of wearing them is even steeper than the sky-high price tag of some coveted brands.
- High heels do put stress on the back and knees. Squeezing into high heels with narrow toe boxes can cause a condition called Morton’s neuroma, a painful thickening of tissue between the third and fourth toes.
Another horror- “Haglund’s deformity”, sometimes called the “pump bump,” occurs when back straps of heels dig into the tissue around the Achilles tendon. Too-tight shoes can bring on bunions, an enlargement of bone or tissue at the base of the big toe that pushes the big toe toward the second toe.
- Pointy shoes can worsen hammertoe by forcing the toes to bend at the middle joints, eventually causing them to stay bent and rigid even when barefoot.
- And then there are those uneven-sidewalk wipeouts that lead to ankle sprains and breaks.
The fix for many of these conditions, podiatrists said, may come as bad news for those emulating “Sex and the City” fashionista Carrie Bradshaw: Box up your stilettos and wear more sensible footwear.
That’s what podiatrists say. To that I say, BOO HOOOOO. Put a pair of flats in your bag and definitely use them for extended walks. But nothing changes your look, your attitude, a bystander’s glance… like a pair of sexy high heels.
Fashion Societé 