Heels CAN be good for your health

[suzanne]

And I don't just mean your emotional well being either, although that's huge for me, and probably for many of you as well.

We have all heard of podiatrist and orthopedic surgeons pronouncing how bad high heels are for your body.* So why do we wear them? Because they look AWESOME on anyone who wears them. I've even seen men in full suits (drab) with heels and they look amazing. I can't overstate this. In spite of the foot pain and other negative effects, I think it's worthwhile to endure the minor discomfort when you can make your feet and legs look so amazing.

But there's another dimension you don't often hear about. A moderate heel can be good for your posture. I don't understand how or even what is meant by "moderate", but I was told this by my physiotherapist while she was treating me for a spinal fracture. It's her business to know these things, so I'll just accept her word, never mind that it suits me to do so!

My own experience confirms this. Having played hockey for over 40 years, it was natural for me to walk with*my feet splayed out quite a bit. At the same time, I had a lot of pain in my hip and knee joints. Once I found the courage to try* wearing heels, I was forced to walk with my toes more straight forward. That has now become my normal walking style in drab shoes, too. And now my joints hardly ever give me pain.

More recently, some muscles in my behind have been giving me a lot of pain. Because of the winter conditions, heels have been a no-no. But one day, I just had to dress up and that included my 4 inch pumps. The muscle pain made it difficult but I got them on, the pain subsided, and stayed away for a couple of days. The pains returned again today, so I wore my 3 inch wedges out to dinner with my wife and the pain is gone again.

I know, there's potentially a lot of things wrong with my tale. One person's anecdote does not represent a trend. It could be just a coincidence. Correlation does not mean causality. Et cetera. But things have been working out for me, so I choose to spin it in the way that puts me in my pumps more often.

[Maria in heels]

Suzanne....you are 100% right in my book. I wear 5-6" heels everyday and I feel absolutely amazing! I know that the heels actually "rotate" my hips as well as change my posture, taking pressure off of my spine and minimizing my constant back pain. I do go out now in drab but wearing heels, taking care to try and hide them as best as I can with jeans, because I can walk a mile without any issues, but if I have sneakers on, I don't even make it around the corner many days. My wife has noticed and when I am in a "bad way" with my back, she closes the door to our room if we are upstairs and tells me to slip on a pair of my heels and just walk around the room for relief. She is still hesitant about me going out with her in them, and only allows me to wear the hidden heel sneakers that I have and posted previously here, but I tell her that the 2.5" heel inside just doesn't do it with my back, and its almost like i'm not wearing anything.

I have sent her several articles about the wearing of heels and the positive effects that it has on some people that have back pain. As you just said, wearing them helps you too with the muscle pain ... I too know the glutei muscle pain that you are talking about and for me thats a dull, constant pain that just doesn't go away...

And yes, after all these years of practice, my wife is AMAZED that I can walk around in my heels with no problem at all! I do have a pair of toned down soft leather boots with a 4" heel that I wear often shopping for groceries or the movies weekly....

[Beverley Sims]

A moderate heel can help with circulation as it puts the foot in a different position than when worn flat.

Pressure differences help exercise the muscles in the foot.

[Maid_Marion]

I've been wearing women's shoes for so long that it felt weird to put on some drab shoes without any heel! Even sneakers and hiking shoes have some!

[Macey]

I'll have to rethink some taller heels, thank you ladies!

[MonicaPVD]

Everyone's experience is different but it seems to makes sense that if your back is naturally at angle X and hurts, then repositioning it at angle Y (with heels) could relieve strain or pressure or whatever and make you feel better. I'm sure there are also cases where it makes matters worse. Good for you!

[sara66]

I have a bad back. I find a good pair of stable heels help relieve pressure on my back. They change your posture and rotate hips, plus tighten your gluts. However after 8+ hours they can make your legs and feet rather sore.
Sara

[Tracii G]

The male body or any human body was not meant to wear high heels.
Are you trying to justify wearing heels even in guy mode?
I have back issues ( 2 cracked vertebrae) and heels don't help my back at all.
My chiro knows all about my trans thing and she advised me to keep the heels to 3 inches or less.
That is my situation anyway and yours may be very different I get that.
If you have posture problems work on that and don't expect heels to replace proper posture.
No need to justify to anyone or make claims that heels help your back just own it and wear whatever you want.

[Lexigurl]

Suzanne....you are 100% right in my book. I wear 5-6" heels everyday and I feel absolutely amazing! I know that the heels actually "rotate" my hips as well as change my posture, taking pressure off of my spine and minimizing my constant back pain.

This may not work for everyone with back pain. But it's awesome that it works for you! I'm super jealous of your collection. I love 5-6" heels but the selection for girls who need wide width is very limited.

[Stephanie47]

I would recommend anyone with back pain seek a competent medical professional for evaluation. There are so many different causes/locations for back pain. To self diagnose and treat oneself is not wise. Since Suzanne is trying to correct/compensate for a known medical issue her experience is not my experience. I have back issues (several) which would only be corrected with surgery. Chiropractors refuse to do any manipulations on my back because it is possible to injure my spinal cord at the L4/5.

I do wear a three inch heel with no effort or discomfort. Given my height and size of my feet a three inch heel is not going to produce the same angle as a person who is five feet tall. I do have two pairs of five inch heels which do produce a lot of discomfort when worn which is never.

Tracii is correct that the human body has not evolved to be able to wear five inch heels.

[NancySue]

I love heels as much as most of you, but as we age, your body looses flexibility. Wearing high heels, shortens the Achilles’ tendon, raises the calf muscles and sways the back. Over the long run, none of these are good. The higher the heels, the more these are accented. Yes, it makes the legs and rear look better, but..? Two inch heels for me, are fine.

[Asew]

I think everything is good in moderation and variation.

[Tracii G]

Moderation is key in most anything you do.
My chiro can't work on my L5 or T4 directly but can work around them
to keep my spine in correct position using muscle manipulation.
Her work is keeping me limber and walking upright.

[JoanneNY]

I agree, moderate heels (2inch) are much more comfortable that my drab shoes. After total joint replacement on both hips and one knee plus flat feet (thanks USN) I can go all day with no discomfort. I'm a womans 14W, finding shoes is a problem. All my shoes are from Pleaser, does anyone know of other sources?

[giuseppina]

I agree with Stephanie (#10): self-diagnosis and treatment of anything more serious than the common cold is asking for trouble. The availability of medical information on the internet magnifies the problem, IMHO. The problem is the information may or more often is not relevant to the issue at hand, and may create more problems than solutions.

[Micki_Finn]

I’m going to trust the podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons who have PhDs over a physiotherapist with a Bachelors.

[Jenny22]

I'm lucky as heaven to not have any back, leg, ankle or foot pains at my 84 years. But, I do occasionally wear heels (mostly chunky, for balance reasons) up to 3". This post got me to searching for more info, and I came across this site which has some interesting info (Read the small print, too) ...
http://www.thespinehealthinstitute.c...fect-your-body

[rachel_rachel]

I’ve had ankle pain for various reasons myself and yes.. wearing heels can relieve a bit of pressure and provide temporary relief of pain.

[erinna]

I recently went to a podiatrist because I was having random foot pain in my heels. After an x ray turns out I have bone spurs. The podiatrist, a woman, joking, she goes, " so your going to need to wear 3" pumps from now on to take out some strain on the achillies tendon". I'm like wow ok well thats going to require an entirely new wardrobe, not letting her know I already own a couple pair of pumps. LOL.

[Teresa]

Suzanne,
A while ago I found an article in a magazine where the author explained the correct or normal heel height . It's all to do with the joints in the ankle , if you sit with your back against the wall and stretch your legs out straight and then check the natural angle the foot makes with the floor . If the foot sits at right ankles that person should only wear flat shoes . If the foot drops away at an angle you drop a rule down at a right angle to the floor from the ball of the toes , you then messure the distance from that point to the ball of the heel , this will give you the correct heel height . I'm a UK size 8 my measurement is 3.5" which I admit is the most comfortable heel size I wear . I would think most guys fall in the range of 3"-4 " . My wife took size 3 shoes , so a small heel to me was a medium sized to high one to her , that's why she cleared out all her lovely heels they were like tottering about in 5"+ heels to her .

[Kandi Robbins]

Last spring I ruptured my Achilles (I am a competitive runner). My orthopedist prescribed heel lifts for all of my running shoes going forward. I asked him if wearing heels (my toes were painted red, so I spoke freely) would help and he said it wouldn't hurt. I limped considerably in my regular shoes, felt nothing when in heels. Three months of PT, daily rehab and my "heel therapy" (probably at least 15 hours a week in heels), had me back at it and running at generally the same pace in relatively quick order.