Being a woman is rough. Balancing work, life and looking good is never easy. High heels are just part and parcel to a lot of our everyday lives. However, wearing those new Manolo?s more than three days week could end up causing a myriad of conditions from bunions to plantar fasciitis to low back pain. The reason for this is because high heels cause a shifting of the weight to the front of the foot. This weight shift essentially smashes your toes into an unnatural position in the toe box, creating an overabundance of pressure on the base of the big toe. This inflames the tissues and can further irritate an existing bunion or aid in the development of one. This unnatural weight distribution contributes to hammer toes as well.

If that wasn?t enough to have you rethink those four inch beauties, being in that “heel up” position creates a shortening of the Achilles tendon or heel cord. So after a long day at the office, switching into flats or bare feet stretches an already shortened tendon. After a period of time this is a? recipe for Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia is a tendon like structure on the bottom of your foot. It?s also at risk of becoming shortened thus becoming inflamed (plantar fasciitis) when the shortened structure is forced to lengthen. This is why typically plantar fasciitis is worse those first few steps in the morning after pointing your feet at night.

So of course, every woman (unless she?s really lucky) will have to wear heels at some time or another. The moral of the high heel story is not wear them more than is necessary or no more than three times a week to minimize any damage that could occur. It is tough being a woman, but that doesn?t have to develop into pain and dysfunction. If you are starting to notice foot pain please don?t wait, you know where to find us at Sport and Spine Rehab!

Dr. Meghan Magner, DC
Doctor of Chiropractic, McLean VA
[email protected]