Statistics show that high heels are one of the biggest factors leading to foot problems in women, with up to a third suffering permanent problems as a result of wearing them regularly. What’s with that?

Problems can include nerve damage, bunions, tight calves, osteoarthritis of the knees and lower back pain.

Bunions

In a shoe with a heel two inches or higher your foot will slide forward in the shoe, forcing your toe into the unnatural shape of the shoe itself. This also redistributes your bodyweight affecting your posture – and not in a good way for your poor spine. The increased weight on your toes causes your body to tilt forward, and to compensate so you don’t fall over, you lean backwards and overarch your spine. This creates a posture that will strain your knees, hips, and your lower back. The change to your posture puts pressure on nerves in the back and can cause sciatica, which can cause nerve pain all the way down the legs into the feet.

Your Achilles tendon can also shorten with regular heel wearing, meaning it can be very painful to wear flat shoes and might even lead to plantar fasciitis in the future. None of these are a good outcome!

Yikes! So what can you do about this?

Alternate your shoe choice regularly i.e. don’t wear heels all day every day, mix it up!

Stretch your calves and work on ankle mobility as part of your regular Pilates routine.

Attend our Healthy Feet workshop this coming Saturday 24/07/14 at 12:30 in our studio