Start in science. The real health risks of high heels: fact or fiction

Versace, autumn - 2013

Effects of high heels on foot health obvious for every older woman: diseases of the legs and spine, pathological deviations in the structure and functions of the foot, etc.

Relevance of the problem

The beauty of high-heeled shoes is undeniable: they are simply mesmerizing! No wonder designers love to create high-heeled shoes: in combination with it, any outfit looks like a king! High heels lengthen the legs and visually make them more slender, affect the gait, giving it a smooth and elegant look. They will never go out of fashion: there is no doubt about it! However, the problem of the negative impact of high heels on foot health is so obvious that it needs to be addressed! If in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century women wore high-heeled shoes only on holidays, then today it has become a habit to use such models for everyday wear.

The insidiousness of high heels lies in the fact that in young age its negative influence is imperceptible to the body, which lulls the vigilance of the fair sex. It seems to many girls that they will always be young, slim and absolutely healthy, and illnesses and ailments are the lot of other women! Looking with horror at the mangled feet of elderly women and canes, with which they hardly move through the streets, the girls are sure that this will never happen to them! Naive simplicity!

Lanvin, autumn - 2013

Meanwhile, doctors of the world sounded the alarm about wearing high-heeled shoes back in 1980: at the International Symposium, a document was adopted on the responsibility of shoe manufacturers for the products they produce. Then the height of the heel in the shoes reached 12 cm - this is actually standing on pointe shoes, like in ballet. A high heel is considered, according to shoe standards, if it has a height of 50 mm and above - 60, 70, 80, 90 mm, etc.

That is, with a heel height of 50 mm, negative effects on the condition of a woman's legs already begin!

Neither designers nor manufacturers heeded the demands of doctors: shoes with ultra-high heels continue to be promoted annually from the catwalks of the world! Nobody argues: it looks very nice! However, the concept of beauty is conditional - using the example of a rapidly changing fashion, we can see this! Therefore, for the sake of the health of women on the planet, it is worth changing their attitude towards shoes: designers should create models of shoes with a rational heel height, and the female half of society should choose them as a beauty standard!

Modern psychologists believe that the desire to wear ultra-high stilettos is the result of a woman's internal complexes and self-doubt. It is necessary to form the worldview of girls in such a way that they strive to strengthen their health, and not cripple it with the help of high heels, artificially creating the impression of their own sexuality.

The rational height of the heel in shoes is 20-40 mm. Its height is measured from the side - from the center of the heel to the supporting surface. If the shoes are on the platform, then it is necessary to subtract its height, which is determined at the place of support of the forefoot - in the area of ​​​​the articulation of the heads of the metatarsal bones with the phalanges of the fingers.

Changes in the human osteoarticular apparatus when lifting on a heel

Brian Atwood 2013

Wearing shoes with high heels harms the spine due to the strong deflection of the body in the lumbar region. A rare woman in old age does not suffer from various diseases of the back and lower back pain!

Before lifting on the heel, 50% of body weight falls on the heel of the foot and 50% on its front section. In shoes with high heels, the weight of the body is redistributed to the support: the pressure on the forefoot increases, which leads to its flattening.

The heads of the metatarsal bones normally form the transverse arch of the foot, located in the form of an arch, which disappears with increasing load. When high-heeled shoes are removed, the position of the bones is restored, but prolonged wear of such shoes leads to irreversible deformation of the foot - transverse flat feet. Sharp pains in the forefoot when walking and restrictions in movement are the result of the development of transverse flat feet, when the bones are displaced and no longer form an arch.

The bones of the tarsus and heel of the foot are interconnected by flat joints that are inactive. When putting on shoes with high heels, the position of the bones relative to each other changes: they move along the articular surfaces. When such shoes are worn for a long time, pains associated with joint deformity inevitably appear, which entails their diseases. When the foot is raised on a high heel, the tendon plate (plantar aponeurosis) is stretched, holding the bones in a certain position. Short-term stretching of this plate allows it to recover, but with prolonged wearing of high-heeled shoes, it ceases to perform its functions. As a result, the bones are displaced: the longitudinal arch with a height of 4 to 7 cm descends and longitudinal flat feet appear. With longitudinal flat feet, a person sometimes loses the ability to move on his own legs at all!

Changes in the musculoskeletal apparatus of the foot when lifting on a heel

When wearing shoes with high heels, not only the plantar aponeurosis is stretched, but all the ligaments of the foot and lower leg are weakened. In addition, the muscles and veins of the lower extremities, when walking in high-heeled shoes, experience overstrain, which leads to their fatigue, pain, sprains, the development of varicose veins and other negative consequences. One look at the feet of top models showing off high heels is enough to understand how bad they are for foot health!

80% of women over the age of 50 experience various diseases legs, which is directly related to wearing shoes with high heels. In men, the statistics are completely different: flat feet are 4 times less common in them than in women!

Despite the heavy Negative consequences wearing shoes with high heels, you should not decisively refuse them: they are needed for special occasions! Occasionally using such shoes for 3-4 hours you can not be afraid for your health. After its operation, it makes sense to conduct a series recovery procedures: do a foot massage for 10 minutes and a warm bath with a water temperature of 35-36 degrees, in which add peppermint oil.

The choice of high heels within 50-70 mm for wearing in especially solemn occasions will keep your feet healthy for life: you should think about it in your youth!

Every woman must have at least one pair of high-heeled shoes in her wardrobe, even if she wears them several times a year.

This is how we, women, are arranged: the fervent knock of sharp heels on the asphalt and those admiring glances with which men see us off at the same time are dear to our hearts!

We have heard about the dangers of high heels. Orthopedists constantly scare us: the load on the spine, injuries, foot deformity ... Do we really have to give up such beautiful shoes just because they threaten us with health troubles?

Indeed, there have been studies that confirm undeniable benefit! Surprised?

So far I've only heard about negative impact such shoes? Well, it's time to change your beliefs!

Posture

Women who are accustomed to walking in automatically maintain perfect posture, because it is impossible to walk in heels, hunched over and hunching your shoulders. You have to move with your head held high, with a straight back and outstretched shoulders. And this means that the load on the spine is distributed evenly.

Confidence

Any woman, walking at a height of 8-10 cm from the ground, feels irresistible, feminine and beautiful!

This allows her to hold her head high, smile and confidently look into the eyes of all the men she meets. That is, heels are just a salvation for shy and insecure people.

The results of recent studies by Italian scientists have caused a storm of emotions in society. As it turned out, the height of the heel determines the blood circulation of the small pelvis and stimulates the muscles. pelvic floor.

The fact is that walking in heels successfully trains the muscles that are activated during sex. At of the average woman, the pelvic floor muscles are significantly weakened by such phenomena as pregnancy, childbirth, overweight, and colds and frequent cough. This negatively affects sexual satisfaction. So, wearing heels can in many ways correct the situation!

According to scientists, the best option for solving this problem is walking in heels with a height of 6 to 8 cm. pain during menses.

beauty

Wearing high heels can help correct some physical imperfections.

For example, women with thin calves are recommended to choose with a pointed toe: such shoes will visually add a few centimeters to the calves (and vice versa). If you wear shoes with heels, the color of which repeats the color of tights and skirts, this will visually lengthen your legs.

That is why stylists advise wearing black tights with black shoes, and light tights with light ones.

Pleasure

Believe it or not, women who love to wear heels are actually happier than those who wear ballet flats! The fact is that, moving with a graceful gait in elegant and comfortable high-heeled shoes, the body receives a strong release of endorphins -.

What to do?

How to accept correct solution– wear high heels or prefer flats?

Of course, the decision is yours to make. Still, here are some tips.

1. If your legs swell, your back hurts, cramps bother you after wearing heels - do not suffer! Give up heels above 4 cm. In many cases, this height is enough to feel more feminine and beautiful.

2. Don't wear high heels if you're driving a car. It is heels that often cause accidents: a woman in such can not cope with the management.

3. When you get to work on the "stilettos", take them off and change into comfortable shoes with a low, stable heel. Let your legs rest for at least an hour.

4. Going for a walk on, take comfortable ballet flats with you. Maybe you won't need them - or maybe they will help out if your legs get very tired.

5. If your day is a constant presence in model shoes with heels (for example, you work as a model, assistant secretary, etc.), be sure to give your feet a break at least once every 1-2 hours. Sit on a chair, take off your shoes, pull the toe of your foot towards you, then away from you. After a few repetitions of this simple exercise, blood circulation will be restored, and you will be ready to continue to defile in heels.

6. After a day at the top, pamper your feet. warm baths with aromatic oils and foams. Massage will help you relax. After the bath, wipe your tired legs with an ice cube made from a decoction of medicinal herbs.

7. Don't skimp on shoes! Your feet deserve only the highest quality and comfortable shoes made from natural soft skin. It is better to buy a cheap sundress or sweater on sale than low-quality shoes in a dubious store.

If you constantly adhere to these simple recommendations and wear heels 6-8 cm high, you will receive only pleasure from such shoes, not overshadowed by unpleasant consequences.

Heeled shoes are an essential attribute not only solemn events, but also ordinary days. Shoes, sandals or stilettos look beautiful and can emphasize any look. Heel front flat sole has advantages:

• the higher the heel, the slimmer the figure appears.
• in order to stand on heels, women have to transfer the center of gravity to the lumbar region and straighten their shoulders - this position visually makes the figure straight, toned and open;
• beautiful elegant shoes adds sexuality;
• properly selected shoes visually make the foot smaller, and the legs longer and slimmer;
• walking in heels forces you to balance, which causes your hips to wiggle and shortens your stride. Such a gait can drive any man crazy.

All this makes shoes with heels such a favorite thing that it makes you put up with a lot of inconvenience and problems that it brings. Wearing it can not only cause pain in the feet and leg fatigue, but also lead to more serious consequences.

What can harm high heels

When the usual center of gravity is shifted and to maintain balance, the back has to unnaturally bend and deviate back, which is why the vertebrae and pelvic bones are in the wrong position. Prolonged stay in this position can cause curvature of the spine and frequent pain in back. Incorrect position of the spine and pelvis leads to displacement internal organs. This affects the digestive and genitourinary systems.

Wearing heels leads to uneven distribution and increased stress on the foot - every couple of centimeters increases the pressure on the toes by 25%. This contributes to the occurrence of transverse flat feet, which is almost never found among men. Constant increased load on the forefoot leads to deformity and deviation thumb. Such a pathology with age, aggravated, can cause difficulties with the selection of shoes.

The harm of high heels lies in the atrophy of the calf muscles. Visually, the legs remain the same as before. The main changes occur in muscle fibers, which, decreasing, lead to a decrease in muscle flexibility. Therefore, many lovers of high heels have difficulty walking barefoot and leaning forward.

One of the most common diseases among women wearing shoes with heels is varicose veins of the legs and. Calluses and swelling of the feet become their companions.

Considering all the above facts, we can conclude that all the benefits of heels pale in front of negative influence on the body. Not everyone is able to give up their favorite shoes knowing that wearing them can be harmful to health. Women should try to minimize harm as much as possible.

How to reduce the harm from heels

1. It is recommended to alternate a high stiletto heel with a flat sole or a small heel.
2. When forced to stay in a long uncomfortable shoes, take it off every two hours and massage your feet.
3. Every evening, stretch the tendon and muscles of the lower leg, and also massage the feet - if the procedure is difficult, you can purchase a massager to facilitate it.
4. When buying shoes, choose models that have a comfortable last and the right size.
5. Give preference to shoes with a heel height of no more than 5 cm - this indicator is considered the safest.

Many scientific treatises have already been written about the fact that it is dangerous to constantly wear high-heeled shoes. However, this does not stop the majority of women who, with the help of this cunning device, seek to emphasize the grace of their legs and at least visually increase their length.

Therefore, we decided to prepare a separate material for you, in which we will try to convince you and motivate you to at least sometimes give your beautiful legs a break from high-heeled shoes.

Let's start with some anatomy facts. It is important to know that the posture and load distribution along the spinal column and on the hip joints depend on the position of the foot during your movement in space. When the plane of the foot is distorted with a shift to the left or right, there is also a huge load on the knee joints. The result of this can be widespread osteochondrosis, arthrosis hip joint and even intervertebral hernia.

As you can see, we still have not said a word about the deformation of the foot itself, the shortening of the tendon apparatus, deforming osteoarthritis of the bone near the big toe. Meanwhile, we have something interesting to tell you about the real dangers of heels for your health. Read on, we guarantee you will learn a lot.

The mysterious cause of venous stasis found

In recent decades varicose veins veins of the lower extremities and the pelvic cavity has become a real scourge for women's health. Moreover, in the vast majority of cases, the onset of the disease occurs at a fairly young age after 25 years. It was during this period of her life that the girl begins to notice an increase in the venous pattern. Wreaths become more elastic and begin to show through skin in the form of blue veins. This is far from early stage venous insufficiency. This is a full-fledged expansion of the veins of the lower extremities.

Treatment will be long and persistent. But, as a rule, the success of therapy is noted only in 1 out of 10 women who have applied to a phlebologist. In the rest, the disease leads to trophic ulcers and surgical intervention for vein plastics.

The reason for the failure lies in the fact that even for the duration of treatment, the main cause of the violation of normal venous blood flow is not eliminated. These are high heels and the wrong setting of the foot. As noted above, standing on heels, a woman redistributes physical activity on those parts of the spinal column that are not intended for this at all. Due to insufficient muscular effort to maintain the spine, there is an increase in the load on the cavity of the acetabulum of the hip joint. Namely, all major blood vessels. Accordingly, there is an artificial violation of the venous outflow of blood. She simply has nowhere to go except to remain in the veins of the lower extremities.

Wrong Signals - Distorted Responses

And now consider another aspect related to the physiology of the foot. And again, we won’t tell you a word about deforming osteoarthritis or other pathologies associated with orthopedics. You can find information about these phenomena on other sites on the Internet.

We will try to tell you what others prefer to keep silent about.

We are talking about biologically active points, which literally "dotted" the entire plantar surface of the foot. While walking, these small points should be properly massaged. Thus, microscopic signals are sent to the brain and internal organs about how all systems should work correctly. In response to these signals, we receive an increase vitality increase energy, strengthen immunity, and just feel great.

Unfortunately, changing the degree of impact on these biologically active points leads to signal distortion. In response, the brain sends a whole army of cells to places of trouble immune system. It is by this mechanism that acute pain syndrome in the spinal column. This is a consequence of tissue edema, which is caused by a signal from biologically active point on the foot of a woman who loves heels.

And what is the harm of heels for internal organs?

Yes, don't be surprised. The internal organs also suffer from high heel shoes. Do you want to know how it goes? Compare your posture when placing your foot on a flat surface. Now go up to a flat wall and press your shoulders, shoulder blades, gluteal region, calves and heels. Are you comfortable in this position?

No? But in vain. After all, this position is a physiological posture, in which not a single internal organ suffers from displacement and compression. When walking in high heels, harm is caused not only due to wrong position internal organs, but also by reducing the level of their blood supply.

And in conclusion, one more terrifying fact of the blatant harm from high heels. In women, the habitual prolapse of the uterus is formed and Bladder. This causes frequent urination and even in some cases urinary incontinence. Pathological bending of the uterus leads to secondary infertility.

That's all the main facts that we wanted to convey to you. And now you have to decide for yourself the problem - to wear high-heeled shoes or not.

Text: Zoya Andreeva

Think heels are pure beauty, charm, and no harm? Alas, this is not so. Women very often sacrifice their own comfort - and often health - for the sake of demands. modern fashion. For example, when they stand on stilettos...

The higher the heel, the more harm

Harm from heels may well become hidden reason damage women's health. Wearing high heels puts extra pressure on the knee joints and increases the risk of osteoarthritis. As soon as low-heeled shoes are replaced by new, high-heeled shoes, these risks increase in proportion to the height of the heel.

Another example of the dangers of high heels is the fact that women who regularly wear high heels have significantly fewer muscle fibers in their calf muscles than those who wear flat shoes. In addition, their Achilles tendon tends to be significantly stiffer and more massive.

The habit of wearing high heels also causes some muscle atrophy in the calves. The muscles themselves remain the same size, but each individual muscle fiber shrinks, making the muscles much less flexible. Over time, women who wear high heels have trouble walking barefoot due to a lack of tension in their calves. It will also be quite difficult for them to bend over and touch their toes with their hand.

Wearing high heels requires more balance than wearing flat shoes. This puts a lot of strain on the muscles of the legs and ankles. And if you slip, like going down stairs, and your foot turns in or out, you put your ankles at much greater risk.

How to minimize the harm from heels?

If you really can't do without high heels, you should put in some effort to prevent sprains. You can practice every evening special exercises yoga, for example, while sitting on a mat, slowly bend over and reach with your hands to the tips of your toes. Breathe out as you bend down. Every day try to reach a little further. Another useful exercise to fight possible harm from heels - take your toes and pull it towards you, stretching the muscles of the lower leg and the Achilles tendon.