High heels have gotten a bad rap over the years. We’ve discussed the footwear on the blog before, but are heels really as bad as some say?
High heels are an easy target for doctors and foot specialists. In fact, the study I’m about to reference was emailed to me with the subject title “High heels are perhaps the worst possible choice of footwear.”
After all, they alter the natural position of the foot. I’m not saying high heels are great, but as the following study shows, there’s no need to compare high heels to other habitual choices like smoking or eating junk food.
Heel Study
The newest heel study published in The International Journal of Clinical Practice uncovered that wearing high heels may have some short term benefits. The study tracked young women in South Korea who were studying to become airline attendants, which required them to wear high heels to class, as they would have to wear heels in their line of work. Over the years it became easy to track musculoskeletal and strength changes in their feet.
Researchers invited 10 women from 10 years of classes to test their strength, balance and foot changes over time. The findings were quite interesting:
- Compared with freshman, who were generally new to wearing heels, sophomores and juniors displayed greater muscle strength in the areas around their ankles, particularly those muscles on the inside and outside of the joint.
- Senior women, who had been wearing heels the longest, showed weakening of those same muscles, compared with even freshmen, and they had much worse balance.
- Upperclasswomen had worse balance than the freshmen.
In the short-term, “wearing high heeled shoes may at first lead to adaptation and increased strength” as the ankle responds to the stresses placed upon it by the unfamiliar shoes, said Jee Yong-Seok, who led the study. But, continued use over time leads to increasingly unbalanced muscles, contributing to ankle instability, balance problems and decline in strength of the muscles that had been stronger for a while.
Dr. Silverman comments
What this study shows is that continued, prolonged heel use can cause a myriad of problems, but they can help build muscle strength when worn appropriately. We’re not saying “never wear heels,” just follow some smart guidelines:
- Wear for short periods, not for the full day.
- Remove your shoes when seated (in the car, at your work desk).
- Sit down/change your footwear when your feet begin to hurt.
- Practice heel and ankle strength/conditioning exercises.
So, just like the occasional soda, you don’t need to completely eliminate heels from your life, but do so in moderation, and take other measures to protect your health!