High heels: If you must wear them, wear them well

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts)
Oct 9th 2007 6:30AM

Categories: Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss

Whenever we write about high heels and how treacherous they can be on your feet and joints, we always have several readers who comment that -- pain or no pain -- they'll never give up their heels. Fair enough. After all, we all have our vices, and there are worse things to love than shoes. But if you're going to wear them, at least try to minimize the damage with these 5 tips from WebMD:

Go for the best fit. Make sure there's plenty of room for your feet, but not so much that your toes slide forward leaving too much room at your heel.
Invest in inserts, or better yet silicone metatarsal pads to cushion the ball of your foot.
Wear a thicker heel and alternate heel heights on different days.
Look for a gradually sloping heel.
Choose open-toe shoes to take the pressure off your toes (and corns and callouses).

So there you go. Go out and wear those sassy new shoes ... just don't tell your podiatrist we said so.

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Comments (37)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

SKW 10-10-2007 @ 7:45PM

Or just don't wear them. Most are uncomfortable, even more are ugly. Pointy toes don't "elongate the leg line", they make you look like a Halloween witch. A large percentage of women (I believe it's a majority) do not want to be taller than men, but we wear these things anyway? Maybe it's because I'm already 5'8", but I've never worn these things outside of a costume.

kate 10-10-2007 @ 9:18AM

One think they failed to mention--the higher the heel, the shorter the stride should be. Nothing looks sillier than a woman wearing heels taking long strides. It makes her body pump up and down like a carousel horse, not to mention she has less control over her ankles. They become more prone to twist with the weight distributed so off-center.

suomi78006 10-10-2007 @ 10:25AM

The US Government needs to do a study on high heels and their impact on health and morals. It does seem probable that enticing women to walk on tip toes results in unhealthy foot and leg discomforature and eventually problems. Then since the look, however uncomfortable, is sexy and entices men to behave badly, there is clear cause for banning high heels from society.

leanna 10-10-2007 @ 6:54PM

Banning High heels? Don't we have worse problems in society, even with our health, that are more important that banning high heels?

Little 10-10-2007 @ 4:12PM

Are you kidding? Heels banned? That's probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Ban miniskirts, tank tops, midriff-baring shirts ...
In fact, just make it a law that all women wear only hijabs in public.
Hi, and welcome to the western world, where we enjoy our freedoms.

Victoria 10-10-2007 @ 10:53AM

Entices men to behave badly? Men do a fine enough job on their own, we don't entice them! If they do something wrong, then obviously the idea was in their heads to begin with.

sorrow1501 10-10-2007 @ 11:06AM

Yes, I wear my heels only in order to "Entice" men. You hit it right on the head there.

Jeeze! No! Regardless of how a woman looks, it is never ok for a man to behave in an unwanted sexual manner towards that woman! There is no excuse in those acts, especially not in high heels! "No" means "No", heels mean "Don't you dare".

J 10-10-2007 @ 11:09AM

hah! high heels should be banned because they entice men? aren't they able to control their urges?

i can understand the high heel fetish, but christ, just peg all of us women as eve and leave it at that, eh?

thanks suomi! i don't think finland as a society is that uptight/sexist. isn't your neighbor sweden one of the best places for women to live in the world?

(btw, suomi is finland in finnish, to avoid any confusion)

Natalie 10-10-2007 @ 3:45PM

Alright, this must be coming from a man who can not keep his pants zipped. Guess you have to blame it on someone or something, its the American way today, sad to say. By the way, I am an AMERICAN and proud to be. So the anti-American comments, save them for someone else.

seemakaulgupta 10-12-2007 @ 10:31AM

As a wearer of High Heels all my life, I am now in my 40's paying a hefty price for it, with corns, bunions, twisted ankles, The Works

Ilona LaRue 10-10-2007 @ 11:43AM

Ban high heels ? Uhmmm why not play it safe and start wearing burka, since snug pants and curvehugging sweaters cause men behave even worse...Oh, better idea, let's fix them !!! Then they won't stray at all....I am so glad i thought of this...
Ok, so I think everybody with a half ounce of brain can see where I am going with...wearing high heels occasionally will not harm anybody, if you are wearing it A LOT, invest into a good quality, medium height heels with silicon pads and you will be fine. Common sence and moderation is the key
a flight attendant (wears heels all the time)

rossman 10-10-2007 @ 11:43AM

How sad it is to be so weak of character that you must blame your own lack of control on others.

Drallin23 10-10-2007 @ 11:56AM

What you women don't get is that if you dress sexy men take it as "I am available and eager to meet people". Which is fine when you are, but when your not the word we used to use was "tease". It's much like having the right to walk down the street at night in a bad neighborhood, but if you do expect trouble. I have no problem with high heels, but other things mentioned remind me we no longer live in a moral society. Maybe we never did?

codg 10-10-2007 @ 12:49PM

All women shold wear them all the time and the taller the better as their legs should look alongated and not short and pudgy. Women follow this advise!

maria 10-10-2007 @ 4:10PM

High heels have long had a 'glam' effect for women. I do not wear them everyday, but every once in a while, I want to feel saucy. I love them! I sold shoes for years and if you purchase your heels in the correct size (width and length) allowing plenty of room in the toe box, there is not any problem with bunions, hammer toe or any other problems that are stated above. The real issue is that some women try to cram their porkers into too small of a size, too narrow of a shoe or just too dang high for comfort. News flash!!!! When you have toe butt or your feet are puffing out of the top of the heel....it does not fit. If you want to strut your stuff in a sexy heel - go for it, just find one that fits!

barbra 10-10-2007 @ 1:38PM

I would hope it was more than just my high heels enticing men! Even if it's enticing them to "behave badly"...ha ha ha! The badder the better sometimes!

Dr. Norma 10-10-2007 @ 1:56PM

Howabout a compromise? I wear very high heels with PLATFORM soles. I get the height (I'm 5'1") without the excrutiating arching from stilletto heels without a platform.
I get compliments (and envy) from women and men of all ages. (I'm 72 years young.)

Therese 10-10-2007 @ 4:18PM

Last week on aol you had two designers telling women how to look thinner--one pictured an anorexic looking woman wrapping a sweater around her nedk, the other told women of curves to wear high heels to "elongate". C'mon people! China banned warping the feet but we think of it as "healthy." Double speak rules!

bkwormsjv 10-11-2007 @ 2:34AM

This debate about whether to ban heels or not seems a little pointless to me. I think the issue has more to do with human nature than heels (or a lack thereof). If we banned heels, the same problem will just reappear in a different wrapper.

But for this debate: there is a grain of truth, I think, in the idea that women can dress a certain way to attract a certain kind of attention. Anyone can do that. And I think it is a bit naive to go out with one's clothes proclaiming a message and then get offended when people respond. People send messages through clothes all the time: think of the differences between prep, goth, punk, and even hooker styles, and think about why they wear it.

It's also normal (or it should be) to expect some variation in what people interpret. Guys and gals in particular seem to have consistently different ideas on that. I know this doesn't address those who interpret things that aren't there- I don't know if there's anything anyone can do about that.

However, responding to someone's style, or even misinterpreting someone's style, is no justification for men (or anyone) to assume that clothing style overrides the message someone sends verbally. If she says no, that means no. So even if you think her high heels means she's looking for a date, failing to respect her refusal is not her fault (nor is it the fault of the high heels).

laprns 10-12-2007 @ 7:31AM

Suommi-please seek preofessionsl help. Did your husband or boyfriend told you that they had an affair simply because they could not possibly resist some woman in high heels? How sad that you fell for that. Even pentecostals wear heels and they started their own religion because they were too cheap to buy jewelry and pay a hairdresser.

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