The Danger of Wearing High Heels: Fact or Fiction?

By: Dr. Christina A. Connelly, DC

High heels have been found as far back as the ancient civilizations of Egypt. In this society most of the lower class walked barefoot, and the use of high heels designated individuals as being elite authority figures who must be respected. The use of high heels was also used this far back in order to perform religious ceremonies honoring their gods, elevating themselves up to a higher power.

High heels continued to be worn, but fell out of popular fashion until Queen
Catherine de’Medici, wife of King Henry II of France commissioned a pair of high heels be made for her in order to designate her status and wealth. This trend continued easily into the 18th century,however with the rise of the French revolution high heels began to be viewed as a sign of opulent wealth and aristocracy and fell out of style.

Since then high heels have come in and out of fashion from time to time, but have
always maintained a certain degree of popularity within our culture. They are stylish, make individuals appear taller, their legs appear longer, and enhance the natural arches of the foot. All traits that are found desirable by society’s standards.

However, excessive wearing of high heels can have a negative impact on the body. Leading to pain in one or more areas including the low back, neck, hips, legs, calves, and of course the feet. High heels increase the natural arches of our foot and elevate our toes, which can cause pain and irritation on the balls of our feet. This can lead to an increased chance of experiencing corns, metatarsalgia, morton’s neuromas, plantar fasciitis, and problems with the calf muscles. All
of which can become irritated with excessive heel wearing. Other conditions that may arise include low back and neck pain. Wearing high heels causes the pelvis to rotate forward creating increased flexion in the low back. This can cause increased pressure on arthritis or disc problems that are present in the low back. Pain can also be experienced in the neck and upper back due to increased forward head posture in order to compensate for the changes being experienced in the low back as well.

As a healthcare practitioner I see some of these conditions every day in my office. In treating any dysfunction it is always important not only to address and resolve a patient’s pain, but to take certain action steps to prevent it from reoccurring. To do this it is important to eliminate anything that adds to the problem and to incorporate exercises to help limit exacerbations.

Dr. Christina A. Connelly is a chiropractic physician at Whole Health Associates
LLC, which is located at 100 Simsbury Road Suite 208 in Avon, Connecticut. She focuses on women’s health, knee and shoulder conditions, with a specialty in SI joint dysfunction. She utilizes diversified chiropractic technique, therapeutic modalities and strengthening/rehabilitation exercises in order to help her patients life happier, healthier lives. In her free time Dr. Connelly enjoys movies, traveling, studying art & history. In addition to this she also enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and pet cat named Mr. Necko. :-)