Can wearing heels too much mess up your feet?

Question

I love wearing heels because they are cute and stylish and I am very used to them now. But my mom keeps saying I will mess up my feet and ankles especially when she sees me running in heels which I do a lot! is this true or just something parents say? I hate flats and I hardly ever wear sneakers.

Answer 1

As long as you dont wear them ALL the time, you should be OK. If you wear them for a whole day, skip a day. Or if you wear them for 10 hours, wear flats or barefoot for the rest of the day.

The biggest concern is shortening of the calf muscles. Although rare, it can happen over a long period of time of wearing heels.

Answer 2

the answer is YES. too much high heels can mess ur feet. I understand how wearing heels makes the legs appear longer, sexier and make you more attractive. However, beauty pays some price too.


our feet are designed to help maintain our balance while we stand, walk or run. It also bears the weight of our body, thus our feet takes most of the gravity and pressure. however, when we wear flat, comfortable shoes, that pressure/weight is evenly distributed in our feet, putting only little strain to the muscles and joints of the legs. When you wear sky-high stilettos, there is a shift of pressure mostly to the balls of your feet, plus the muscles in your lower legs have to accomodate to this. When your feet and muscles are subjected to this for a long time, certain musculoskeletal conditions/deformities may arise.


However, if you really are a certified-true lover of heels, you can take some extra care to lessen the occurence of feet and muscle/bone problems. here are some suggestions:

1) after walking/ standing in heels for longs hours, find some time to remove your shoes and rest your feet flat on the floor. This will ease the pressure off. Do this as much as you can.

2) you can do some feet/leg pumping exercises - extend your legs and the make your feet do a flapping-like motion, just like hand-flapping (flex and extend your feet). This exercise is not only gonna strengthen your ankle joints, it also increases the circulation and helps in preventing varicose formation.

3)before you sleep, while lying down, elevate your legs above the heart level for at most 5 minutes. This allows the blood in your foot to return to your heart and prevent also varicose veins. Just be sure not to do this longer or else, small amount of blood will flow into your legs and feet.

4) when your leg muscles are sore, place a cloth soaked in not so hot water (one that you can tolerate)over it. and afterwards, massage the muscle.It relaxes the muscle and improves the bloodflow.

5) be sure to consult your feet doctor. if you you start to feel pain, numbness and coldness of your legs and feet, or any other things you think is not normal, etc.. seek medical help immediately.

Answer 3

Without even reading the other answers here, I'm going to tell you - YES YES YES!

I've got tendinitis in 3 different tendons between my feet and my knees, not to mention I snapped my Achilles Tendon and had to have surgery on it, AND now I'm flat footed because my arches collapsed from my weak tendons!

All of this happened to me while I was in highschool. I used to LOVE wearing high heeled boots & sneakers, but always had to wear regular flat sneakers for gym class, or if I wanted to ride my bike anywhere. My mom always told me I couldn't wear my boots in the house because they had such deep treads and rather than wear another pair of shoes, I went barefoot. My podiatrist (foot doctor) told me that my problems started with my Achilles, because all day long I went around on heels, and the tendon adjusted to being shorter (arch your foot like you're wearing heels to see what I mean) and then it had to snap & stretch out fast whenever I took my heels off. I went from a 3-5 inch heel to 0 inches, bare footed, and gave my body about 5 seconds to adjust. Everytime I did that my tendons stretched and eventually grew weak enough that they started tearing each time they stretched.

Now, 4 years after my surgery, I still can't even ride a bike or walk for more than a mile or so without my legs literally giving out on me.

If you really like your heels that much (and I'm sure you do) try looking up some physical therapy stretches for feet, ankles and knees. These will help strengthen your muscles & tendons and (hopefully) help undo the damage your sexy shoes do!

(Try looking for some chic flat sandals like EarthShoes for summer wear, they provide support for your feet, are comfy as heck, and look really cute!)

Answer 4

Yes, it is true; but that is usually due to wearing them too long and too often. I still wear them; and four inches high, too. But I only wear them for about 3-4 hours at a time, not all day. Don't run in them, and make sure you are at your proper weight. Too much weight can really put a lot pf pressure on the front of your foot; causing the bones to have to bear tremendous pressure.

Wearing heels judiciously is a lot of fun, and looks good too. But wearing them too long and too high can cause knee, ankle, and foot problems in the long run.

Answer 5

Just don't wear them all day, every day! Problems are because of the shape they put your foot in when you walk, so insoles and such don't make much difference; it just isn't good to walk with your heel so elevated compared to the ball of your foot. But it takes pretty extensive wear to actually cause damage, the human body is quite tough. I personally wouldn't wear high heels more than every third day or so. The sort of people who get serious damage from high heels are, I believe, mostly people who wear high heels to work every single day, are standing up for a lot of the day, and do this for years.

Answer 6

Trust your mom and my bad ankles. I love heels that are 4 inches high. Baby my ankles have began to feel all four inches of them. Stay away from 4in and stick with 2 and 1/2 to 3 inches. I know they arent as much fun. But in the long run u'll appreciate it. Your body wasnt set up to balance that high on stilettos (my fav)
sorry

Answer 7

just go barefoot at home whenever you are not out. don't wear them in the house.
yes they are terrible for your feet.
look at the feet of older women who have worn heels their whole life. but tell your mom it's just a stage and you will get over it. research bunions, hell spurs, pump bumps, and other foot problems that can come from bad shoes.

Answer 8

I know it hurts but listen to your mom. You gotta part with your heels. They mess up your whole alignment and make your back and neck hurt badly. My mom used to wear heels but she quit because she's now in soo much pain :(

dANNY

Answer 9

no i wear heels all of the time. i run in them two. i have been wearing heels since i was 9. i am 12 now.

Answer 10

Heels do mess up your ankles, but they help you to burn more calories when walking