Bent ankle / heels

[Matia]

Hey girls

I bought awesome pair of high heel boots just to realise that probably due to my sport history and several bent ankle injuries i have a big trouble to even stand straight in the boots and walking is of course harder - i am aware that walking in heels nicely is a science of its own and requires huge amount of practice, but does anyone have similar experience and are there perhaps excercises to straighten ankles? Or possibly some kind of surgery could help (extreme case scenario of course)

Photo included - dont laugh :)

[suchacutie]

My ankles were not very strong when I started walking in heels, but over the years I have learned a couple of things: 1) If I walk like a guy while wearing heels I'm lucky if I don't break an ankle, and I surely wear out the muscules/ligaments quickly. Short steps and leading from the upper thigh/hip are essential, and 2) once walking in heels, my ankle areas have strengthened immensely.

The heels help my back tremendously so I wear them every morning until I get dressed to leave for work. That little bit every day has made a great difference in my complete ability to wear any kind of heel in any circumstance, but it has strengthened all the necessary body parts!

Wear them...go slowly and increase wearing time slowly over time.

[AllyCDTV]

I was doing pretty good walking around in heels until I ruptured my Achilles tendon back in February. Recovery from that injury takes 6-12months and a lot of work. I couldn't even think about sticking my foot back in heels until about 3 months ago. When I did, I quickly realized walking was not going to be a possibility, at least for the near future. I could stand in my heels but that was about it.

While I am not a doctor, here are a few things I learned in the process of my recovery. There are about 12 muscles in your calf which control about 12 tendons in your ankle. Ankle strength is a combination of tendon and muscle strength. While there is not much you can do about tendon strength, you can build up your calf muscles. Unfortunately calf muscles take a lot of work to see results. There are 3 main muscles in your calf. Two of them respond to seated calf raises and one responds to standing (straight leg) calf raises. Lower weight and high reps (about 20 reps) with 3 sets each seems to be the best protocol. Keep in mind though that if your problem is because you have weak or damaged tendons, hard exercise may cause them to rupture. As far as surgery to improve ankle strength, about the only thing they can do is tendon grafts and I seriously doubt you will want to go through that. That said, you might want to discuss an exercise program with your doctor before starting off on one.

I think for most people, the key to mastering walking in heels is a matter of balance, gait mechanics and practice. A search for "walking in heels" on YouTube should give you some pointers.

[linda allen]

You don't say how high the heels are that you bought, but why not start with 1" heels, walk until you're OK in them, then move to 2" heels for a while, then 3", etc.?

As for exercises or surgery, you should ask your doctor. Or a foot/ankle doctor.

[Beverley Sims]

With the prospect of doing serious damage I have decided extreme fashion will have to be passed by.
Two to three inch heels will suffice thanks.

[Karren H]

Decades of ice skating have given me pretty strong ankles..... and really have no issues walking in heels up to 5".....

[Stephanie47]

I do not know the heel height you are wearing. There seems to be somewhat of an obsession for many CD-ers to wear the highest heels possible. Every medical professional I've ever heard on the subject cautions against leg injury caused by high heels. Frankly, I've never had any difficulty wearing a three inch heel or less. I do have two pairs of five inch heels that I find difficult to walk in from the viewpoint of balance and leg stress. They remain in storage.

You may want to consult a podiatrist to see if there are exercises to strengthen legs muscles, etc. You may want to even disclose to the podiatrist that you wore high heels as a part of a Halloween costume and you noticed pain, etc. My wife has had several surgeries on her feet and forever has been banned from wearing any heel.

Better to wear a stylist low heel than be crippled for life!

[ClosetED]

I am a doctor, but not an Orthopedic surgeon, podiatrist, or physiatrist. A physical therapist would have the most experience in specific exercises. You could ask for some PT sessions due to ankle pain and claim you wear cowboy boots with heels for country music dances. But common sense approach would be to start with lower heels for longer periods and when you can do 1 inch heels for 8 hour, then change to slightly higher for 30 minutes and the lower for the rest of the day and slowly shift to more time in the higher heel. When you can do that for 8 hours, move higher if desired. The actual function is the best exercise.