HIGH HEELS

Wearing high heels is bad for your posture and health.  The heels thrust the foot onto the front of the shoe, which throws the weight of the body onto the ball of the foot, crushing the toes.  The higher the heel, the greater the body’s incline.

Bunions and hammer toes caused by high heels also cause problems for posture. 

Sam Singh, Orthopaedic Surgeon at The London Clinic says that excessively high heels push the centre of the body forward so the spine compensates by bending backwards.  The sure fire route to muscle strain and lower back pain. The strain can carry up to muscles in the neck and head, leading to tension and headaches.  It they’re worn long term, and that means for more than 6 months, shortens the calf muscles and lowers the arch of the foot – leading to knee and hip problems as well as paintful Achilles tendonitis and plantar faciitis (severe heel pain), and these can be long term.

A high price to pay for a few hours of vanity, which may not even be comfortable !!

Select lower heels and wear only for short periods, if you must.

UGG BOOTS

As these don’t have an insole, they provide no support at all for the foot or ankle, not do they provide any shock absorbency.  If they are tight on the calf, the muscular activity of the calf can be affected – this helps the blood flow to the heard and can cause circulation problems such as oedema which is an accumulation of fluid round the ankles.  Ideally, these should be worn with an insole for damage limitation.

WELLINGTONS

Again, these provide no support to the arch of the foot, so prolonged wearing throws the posture out of line.  The body tries to compensate using knees and hips and even the muscles in the neck and head, causing tension in the shoulders leading to back pain.  Wearing footwear with no secure foot support leads to plantar faciitis which can be long term, and very painful. As these are usually made of rubber or plastic, they cause the feet to sweat creating a perfect environment for fungal infections.  It’s advisable to wear for short periods only.

MULES

The toes grip the shoe when wearing slip ons such as these, and long term this will lead to deformity of the toes.  This style of shoe offers little stability to the ankle, and can make the foot roll inwards leading to knee and lower back pain.  Because there is nothing around the heel, the foot can move around, especially if hot and sweaty, and can also hit the sole whilst walking, causing hard skin buildup under the heel.  Go for mules with a wide band across the foot as this will help stop it moving around.

HIKING BOOTS

If these are worn too tightly laced in order to better stabilise the ankles, this can reduce the flexibility of the foot.  This forces the body to compensate by increasing strain on knees and hips and long term damage leads to osterarthritis.

TRAINERS

Although generally classed as the healthiest form of footwear because they support the arch, cushion the sole, conform to the foots natural shape and support the ankle.  However, their downside is they are often worn when the feet sweat and can breed fungus leading to athlete’s foot.   Always wear socks with trainers, don’t wear for extended periods of time and air them well after wearing for exercise.