advantages and disadvantages of heels and flat shoes

Why Women Wear High Heels

The reasons for women wearing high heels – stilettos, kitten heels, court shoes, wedges etc – are numerous and mostly aesthetic. Indeed there are a number of advantages to wearing high heels and they include:

• Making the feet appear smaller
• Helping the calf muscles and gluteus appear more defined
• Helping to tone the pelvic floor
• Adding height
• Making the legs appear longer
• Helping to achieve better posture
• Better defining the arches of the feet

Studies have shown that one in ten women wear high heels more than three times a week and the number of women wearing heels daily has risen dramatically since the launch and subsequent global popularity of fashion-conscious and extravagant television series such as Sex and the City, Ugly Betty and The Hills.

High Heels – What Are the Risks?

That high heels can be hazardous to health is no longer merely a notion but a fact. There have been numerous studies and much research investigating and compounding the disadvantages and health risks associated with wearing high heels. So what can a woman who wears high heels on a regular basis expect in terms of health?

One of the most common results of prolonged heel wearing is back and leg pain. Chiropodists and podiatrists have found that wearing high heels raises the heel which results in the wearer’s centre of gravity being pushed forward. The reflex action is to bend the lower back to compensate for the shift, which then changes the position of the spine and putting pressure on the nerves in the back. This can lead to sciatica, a condition where nerves become trapped resulting in severe pain and numbness that can extend down as far the feet.

In addition to this, the Achilles tendon (the tendon running from the heel up the back of the calf) can become permanently damaged due to the shortening effect elevating the heels can have on it. Stretching the tendon again can become painful and can cause continued discomfort.

Perhaps the most documented health risk of prolonged high heel wear is osteoarthritis, the painful degenerative condition characterised by the breakdown of cartilage within the joints. As this cartilage acts as a shock absorber, when it is worn away, the bones grind together causing pain, swelling and decreased motion.

Other potential risks include hammertoes, bunions, pain and pressure in the knees and Morton’s neuroma (also known as metartarsalgia), a condition characterised by nerve thickening that causes pain and numbness in the toes. Let us not forget the simpler risks such as the stumble factor and the inability to run.

With all these associated ailments and disadvantages, it perhaps becomes clearer why so many women are opting for flat shoes over their vertiginous counterparts but are there fewer health risks?

Flat Shoes – Fun and Functional

Flat shoes have been heralded as the solution to the risks and troubles that come with wearing high heels and in early days, they also came with a stigma attached – they’re not as sexy. However, in recent years, high fashion designers as well as high street stores have come to know that flat shoes can be as sexy as high heels while supplying the wearer with a more comfortable and more practical alternative.

Flat shoes – ballet flats, tennis shoes, boots and brogues – are designed primarily for comfort. The wearer of ballet flats can run for the bus or train, has less chance of tripping or stumbling and the risk of degenerative joint diseases, hammertoes and metartarsalgia are greatly decreased. They are made for ease and function and come in a wide variety of styles to fit even the smartest of occasions. However, whilst flat shoes are now fashionable and functional, they are not without their own set of disadvantages that can lead to health problems.

The main risk of wearing flat shoes is that because they do not provide arch support, the user is at risk of fallen arches, where the entire sole of the foot becomes almost flat. In adults, pain is a common symptom of fallen arches and can make it extremely difficult to exercise and maintain good health. Plantar fascistic, another associated health risk is characterized by pain in the soles of the feet. It is a painful inflammatory condition often caused by the prolonged wearing of flat shoes. Lesser risks such as toe stubbing and in terms of aesthetics, can sometimes look awkward and can detract from the overall success of statement of an outfit.

It is clear that no one form of footwear will provide everything the wearer requires and so it is important to long –term health to balance the choices. High heels may look fabulous but they are also somewhat dangerous and while flat shoes are practical and nowadays pleasing to the eye, they too come with their own problems. What is it to be? Fashion or functionality?