How to wear high-heeled shoes without harm to your health

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Many girls think they will take over the world if they find the right pair of shoes. But getting on your heels three times a week (or more) is very harmful. A few tips will help minimize harm to the health of your feet - and you won't have to throw out your favorite stiletto heels.

Heels damage the muscles and joints of the feet. Muscle problems increase the risk of falls and injury. The long-term effects are no better: foot deformities, back pain, unhealthy gait.

Sammy Margo of the British Royal Society of Physiotherapists sees every day what the heels are doing: bruises, ligament ruptures, calluses and bumps, knee and hip injuries, back problems. And the fractures, of course, due to the fact that it was not possible to maintain balance.

It is clear that not everyone wears especially dangerous stilettos and that there is a lot of harmful things in the world. But to reduce the harm from heels, help your feet.

1. Choose comfortable heels

Not all heels are necessarily harmful to the feet.

For example, if you have a 4 cm heel and 1 cm of this height is a platform, then the heel itself is 3 cm. And that's better than 4cm stiletto heels.

Choose wide, chunky heels that are easier to balance. In the right shoes, the heel hits the ground, and then the weight is transferred smoothly to the pads of the feet.

2. Change your shoes

High-heeled shoes shorten and strain your calf muscles. And on the other side of the lower leg, the muscles, on the contrary, are stretched. The balance in muscle development is impaired, and this increases the risk of injury.

Therefore, heels do not need to be worn every day. Like sneakers or ballet flats on a completely flat sole: the feet get used to one position. It is best to alternate between shoes so that your feet are not in the same position.

3. Exercise

To maintain healthy foot muscles, do a small amount of exercise 3-4 times a week. It is not necessary to set aside time for this, most exercises are easily integrated into everyday activities.

For example, it is helpful to stand with your toes on the bottom rung of a ladder and lower your heels. This will stretch the leg muscles. Hold in this position for 10 seconds, then stand on your toes.

It is useful to remember the usual warm-up that we did at school in physical education: walking on the heels, on the outside and on the inside of the foot.

And when you're sitting down, roll your feet with a water bottle or massage ball.

Actress and healthy lifestyle fan Gwyneth Paltrow has published a whole range of special exercises that help take a break from heels.

Stretching the muscles of the foot

The first exercise helps against hammer toes, pinched nerves, marching fracture, and bony growth.

To start, stretch your right hand towards your left leg and connect your fingers as if you were going to say hello to your own leg. At the same time, the thumb of the hand will be free, and place the other four between the toes. In this position, you need to linger for 30 seconds. Then pull your toes down, stretching the top of your foot for 5 seconds. Do 10 reps.

Stretching the extensors of the foot

This exercise prevents pain in the muscles of the lower leg after high exertion.

Get on your knees. Place a towel roll under your feet to raise the balls of your feet as high as possible. Slowly lower your hips onto your feet until you feel a stretch in the forefoot and lower leg. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Repeat twice.

Stretching the peroneal muscles

This exercise fights against the imbalance in the development of the muscles of the lower leg and foot, with changes in the joints. To complete it, you need a belt or rope that does not stretch.

Lie on your back, strap around the balls of your right foot. Raise your right leg straight, leave your left extended on the floor. Pull the toes of your right foot towards you and twist the foot inward. Hold the belt with your left hand. Try to stretch your right leg as if you want to touch your toes to your left shoulder. You should feel a stretch in your calves. Hold for 30 seconds.

Repeat the exercise twice for both legs.

Calf stretch

Helps prevent Achilles tendon inflammation, plantar fasciitis and sprains.

Stand in a lunge position with your hands on the wall. The left leg is bent, the right leg is extended back. Turn your right leg slightly so that the toe is facing inward. Keep your heels on the floor, lean on your right heel. The hips should be parallel to the wall and the right knee should be straight. Hold this position for 30 seconds.

Then move your right leg closer to the wall, bending it at the knee. Make sure that the toe is still facing inward and the heel does not come off the floor. Pause again for 30 seconds.

Do the same exercise on the other leg.

Thumb stretch

Prevents tendon inflammation.

Place your thumb in a corner or on a wall ledge so that it faces up. The rest of your toes and ball of the foot should be on the floor. Lean against the wall not only with your fingertip, but with most of its surface. The leg should be bent at the knee.

You need to stretch a muscle called the long flexor of the big toe. It goes from the toe through the foot and rises to the calf. This muscle works when we go up on toes or stand on heels, dance or jump.