If you’re a woman with foot problems—perhaps bent, crooked toes such as hammertoes or bunions, or corns and calluses—it’s not due to wearing high heels.
Our doctors, mothers, and even pop magazine articles have sold us on the idea that women’s foot problems are often from wearing high heels.
However, after treating hundreds of women who had horrible feet and swore they rarely, if ever, wore high heels, I began to question if high heels were really the reason so many women had foot problems.
Could women’s feet be genetically unique from men’s?
And could these differences make them more likely to develop foot problems, such as bunions or hammertoes?
The answer was a resounding yes!
Like the female brain and most of her body, doctors are finally beginning to realize the female foot is remarkably different from that of the male.
A woman’s feminine frame (generally, wider hips and proportionately shorter legs) and her precise chemical physiology (pregnancy, menopause, and menstrual cycle, or lack of a cycle) profoundly affect her feet, altering their function, shape, and at times, chance of injury.
Even the shape of a woman’s foot is unique.
Compared with males, women have a foot that is shorter and narrower with an instep that isn’t as long (the average American woman wears a shoe size of 8.5).
Taken together, all these factors create a “female foot” that is more prone to foot problems, such as hammertoes, bunions, and pinched nerves—with or without high heels.
Does this mean I recommend you wear high heels?
That would be like a nutritionist recommending Häagen-Dazs!
High heels place your feet in a weakened position, causing foot problems that would develop anyway to worsen more quickly, and high heels worn excessively can cause their own unique foot problems, such as pinched nerves, bent toes, or a shortened, tight Achilles tendon.
Wearing high heels should be thought of like a dieter having a hot fudge sundae occasionally: it’s a decadent treat.
The key word is “occasionally,” and you should add to that “briefly.”
Now that you know the truth about high heels, feel free to slip on a sexy, gorgeous pair and look stunning—briefly and occasionally—guilt free!
Related Posts
- High Heels May Not Be All Bad
- Should Men Wear High Heels?
- Five Musts for Healthy, Beautiful Feet
- Why Women Have More Foot, Knee, Hip, & Back Pain (and what you can do about it)
- The Woman’s Foot: Unique, Beautiful and Prone to Problems?
- Common Foot Problems to Watch For
- Do You Need a Podiatrist?
