A healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, daily exercise, stress maintenance, and sunshine are what you typically think of when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. While those things are of primary importance when it comes to health, what you wear also plays an undervalued and important role. Whether your perfect afternoon includes shopping for those designer heels you’ve been pining for ever since you saw them sitting so temptingly in the store (only the $200 price tag deterred you then), or whether you’re simply someone who buys shoes out of necessity and for practical functions, this is for you. Ill-fitting shoes or the wrong type of shoe can exacerbate or even cause foot, knee, spinal, and hip problems. The following list encompasses health problems connected to poor fitting shoes as well as suggestions and solutions that will make your feet happy.
High Heels: Fashion at a Scary Price
The wearing of high heels for a one or two hour event every once in a while isn’t likely to do more than cause a little temporary foot pain that is easily alleviated by a good night’s sleep. For those who hop into heels for a ten hour day at the office five days a week, there may be some more serious consequences. High heels are often directly responsible for the following problems:
Bunions - A bunion is a bony bump resulting from the excessive pressure of your big toe on your other toes. They are incredibly painful and, if not remedied, can last for years. While extreme cases may require surgery, you can usually just heal it by changing your footwear.
Ankle Sprains - This is kind of a no brainer, but it’s one of the most common results of prolonged high heel wearing. Ankle sprains can take anywhere from 3 weeks to a few months to heal, so think carefully before cramming your abused feet into mile high stilettos.
Blisters - Because of the pointy tip style and the slop, prolonged wearing of high heels can cause blisters. Continual aggravation of blisters may lead to an infection, which not only looks nasty but may even require a trip to the doctor’s office. The pump bump, an irritated swelling typically located on the heel, is directly caused by high heels.
Knee Pain - High heels throw your center balance off because they place your body at a disproportionate angle. This can lead to chronic knee pain, which, if it becomes severe enough, can be disabling.
Hammertoes - Hammertoes are the curling up of your toes into scrunched, hammer like shapes. As with bunions, they are commonly caused by feet being squeezed into high heels or shoes with very narrow toe boxes for too long a period of time. Calluses, blisters, and corns are a common co-occurrence or result of hammertoes. Like bunions, surgery is only needed in the most severe of cases. Treatment usually involves simply ditching heels and moving to shoes with more support and less of a dramatic arch.
Reduced Circulation - Because high heels throw the equilibrium of your body off and place excessive pressure on one point of the body, it can lead to reduced circulation, spider veins, varicose veins, and weakened calf muscles.
If you simply cannot imagine life without high heels every day, keep the length of the heel no more than 2 inches and ditch the tiny stiletto heels. Is your health really worth the price of fashion? Chinese women used to bind their feet from childhood to make them small and tiny, leading to deformed feet and a myriad of health problems as they grew. Like other trends and fads, the binding of the feet wasn’t worth the problems it caused, so remember that whenever you feel tempted to slide into those 6 inch heels. High heels are the most common offenders when it comes to shoes and your health, but they definitely aren’t the only ones.
Flat Shoes, Flat Feet
So maybe you’ve decided high heels are out after reading the above or you simply can’t stand them. Don’t be too quick to jump to the opposite end of the spectrum and use it as an excuse to wear flip-flops or ballet flats to work. Shoes and sandals that are flat with no cushion can be almost as bad as high heels; they frequently contribute to or cause the following problems.
Flat Feet - This one was kind of obvious, but it bears mentioning anyway. Your foot is naturally designed with three arches; the medial longitudinal, the lateral longitudinal, and the transverse arch. The medial arch is what you typically think of when someone refers to the arch of your foot, it’s simply the curve going from the front of the foot to the back. The lateral arch is parallel to the first one on the other side of the foot. As its name suggests, the transverse arch goes across the foot, perpendicular to the two parallel arches. What does this all mean and why is it important? Flat shoes with no support work against the three natural arches of your foot and contribute to flat feet. Flat foot is a painful condition where your foot had lost its natural tone and arch and is, as the name says, flat.
Plantar Fasciitis - Plantar Fasciitis is inflammation of the Achilles tendons connected to your heel. Symptoms range from mild to severe heel pain. The most common cause of plantar fasciitis is wearing shoes with no support or shoes that do not support the natural arch of your foot.
FAQ About Choosing Healthy Shoes
Q. What is the best shoe for me?
A. If you have no preexisting health conditions such as diabetes that require extra attention, simply go with a shoe that offers support and contours itself to the natural arch of your foot.
Q. Can I Still Wear High Heels?
A. As mentioned above, the occasional wearing of high heels isn’t likely to cause any lasting damage. Those with plantar fasciitis or any sort of inflammation of the foot will want to forego heels altogether.
Q. What Are the Best Shoes for Diabetics?
A. Shoes that are specifically designed and engineered for diabetics to provide extra support and protection are the best option.
Q. Isn’t It Healthier To Just Go Barefoot?
A. Among some health-food oriented communities, going barefoot is becoming popular. It’s touted as a way to connect with the earth. While going barefoot does have its benefits and is even recommended in safe areas, it can be painful on hard surfaces and you still need shoes to protect your feet.
Your feet are the vehicle for your adventures in life and often the key to staying fit, so take good care of them. Whether it’s choosing the proper running shoe or buying a good summer sandal with support, be ready to make the investment your feet deserve.
