High Heels...

Assalamualaikum. Hye again! Hehe. This time I would like to share about high heels.. Ladies, take note. :-)

Research is increasingly demonstrating that poor footwear contributes a great deal to foot, joint and posture problems. In fact, we don’t need science to tell us this – common sense tells us that there are bound to be problems when we force our feet into unnatural positions and place great stress on them.

 Common foot problems include bunions, hammertoes, calluses and corns, flat feet and high arches. Some foot problems are exacerbated by medical conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, arthritis or poor circulation.

Foot pain can also be due to acute injuries caused by accidents or trauma. These injuries may include broken bones, muscle strains, sprains, and joint dislocations.

At the same time, ill-fitting footwear not only leads to foot injuries, but posture and joint problems as well. The wrong kind of shoes can cause you to stand or walk incorrectly, resulting in loss of muscle tone in your core muscles. When your core muscles aren’t strong enough, it can eventually lead to back, neck and joint problems.

Walking on high heels puts abnormal stress on both the front and the back of the knee. This kind of repetitive stress to the knee elevates the risk for osteoarthritis.

If you wear high heels for a long time, the tendons in your soles will eventually shorten – and then you reach a point where it’s only comfortable for you to wear high heels, creating a vicious cycle of pain causing more pain.

Some research also shows that other types of flat shoes may also be bad for us, such as certain athletic shoes that are heavily padded.

A 1997 study by researchers at McGill University in Montreal found that the more padding a running shoe has, the more force the runner hits the ground with. This is because we instinctively plant our feet harder to cancel out the shock absorption of the padding.

When our feet hit the ground with more force, it places more stress on the knee – leading again to the risk of osteoarthritis. The effects of osteoarthritis may not surface until many years later in your life, by which time you may need injections or surgery.

Cited from: http://www.sihatselalu.com.my/2009/04/high-heels-are-bad.html