Recently, I had a female a patient come into the office complaining of pain in the balls of her feet and in the back of her heel. She stated that when she comes home from work, at the end of the day, is when she experiences most her pain. After having a diagnostic conversation with the patient, she relayed that she was a finance professional that worked in NYC, and wore 3-4 inch heels to work every day. She has been following this routine for the past five years. She stated that she actually felt more pain when she was out of heels, especially in her calves, and the back of her leg.
Luckily, I was able to get a first-hand look at these stylish stilettos, because she came to me at the end of her work day. It is always amazing how women, so often, sacrifice function for fashion. Looking at her shoes and comparing her feet to them; it was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
This type of problem is often encountered in professional female’s, for the reason that, the balls of feet are under constant pressure due to the high heels putting their foot in a plantar-flexed position putting the forefoot under extreme stress. The natural position of the foot allows for even distribution of body weight through the front and back of the foot. The heels are essentially putting the foot in an “unnatural” position.
The pointier the shoe, the higher the likelihood of having some sort of forefoot pathology. These type of shoes can cause problems like bunions, hammertoes, neuroma’s (this is when the nerve that runs between your toes gets inflamed due to squashing of the toes in the pointy toe box), and even stress fractures can occur due to excessive stress.
The back of the legs and the calves hurting is also a common complaint encountered in patients that wear high heels. The reason why this happens is because the Achilles tendon is in a relaxed position due to the back of the foot being lifted by the heels. Once out of heels, the Achilles tendon stretches out again. Doing this repetitively leads to a chronic tendonitis. Most of these problems can be easily avoided by meeting in the middle. Obviously, it is almost next to impossible to take a pair of stylish heels away from a business professional. So, the middle ground…what is it? Wear heels when absolutely necessary (ie meeting, conference, etc.), but all other times remain in flats or shoes with a slight heel.
The deal I made with my patient was to limit her time in her heels. She would wear sneakers or flats when she walks to from the train to work, and even at her desk. She also required some physical therapy for her Achilles tendonitis, and now has improved. But the main point here is not to sacrifice function for fashion, because sooner or later, your feet will pay for it.
Written By: Dr. Varun (Ben) Gujral, Affiliated Foot & Ankle Center, LLP in Edison & Carteret, NJ
Tags: arch support, foot, heel pain, high heels, plantar fasciitis, shoes
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