We race in them, we dance in them, we dine in them and we get married in them. High heels. It's a star-crossed love affair women have with those spiked up, patent leather, open-toed, glossy red, silver heeled or strapped up shoes.
Except for Asian cultures who traditionally treat their feet with great care, women tend to abuse the heck out of their feet. Painful nerve spasms are a result of prolonged high heel wearing. Ouch! And now a trend of foot botox is on the rise to combat foot pain.
But there are conflicting reports involving high heel shoes. Are they really that bad? One study I found says that high heels are indeed very good for your body.Keep reading for the scoop...
A recent segment of the TV show The Doctors showed a new trend: Botox for the feet. The theory is that when women wear high heels the nerves in their feet begin to spasm resulting in pain. The botox numbs the pain. But the foot damage is still done.
Why can't women treat their feet better? Like the many Asian cultures who take off their shoes before entering a home and even give their feet a mini spa scrub to cleanse them of the wear-and-tear from the day. Nice feets!
"Heels are BAD"
Dr. Ordon acknowledges that as much as women love their high heels, “your feet do pay a price.”
On botox as a quick fix: “Those pain signals are there for a reason!” Dr. Jim cautions. “It should be telling you not to wear things that hurt!”
Dr. Travis asks, “Aren’t we just masking the body’s natural defense mechanism here?”
Why Botox?
"The plastic surgeon explains that the muscles on the bottom of the feet go into spasm after prolonged periods of wearing high heels. When Botox is injected into the muscles on the bottom of the foot, it stops the muscle from going into spasm, which subsequently numbs foot pain."
"Heels are GOOD"
The other side says heels might be good! This study reported by ABC news claims that heels are actually improving your fitness:
Dr. Maria Angela Cerruto, a urologist at the University of Verona, Italy, found that the tippy-toe posture of heels can tone a woman's abdomen and pelvic floor.
In a study to be published in the journal European Urology, Cerruto presented the results of her tests on 66 women under the age of 50.
She found that if they stood with their feet at a 15-degree angle to the ground (the equivalent of a 3-inch heel) the electrical activity in their pelvic muscles was less indicating the muscles were more relaxed with higher heels, thus improving their strength and ability to contract.
My Thoughts
I agree with both sides! I think heels are bad for your feet. They wreck havoc on your feet nerves and can cause all sorts of foot stress. However, I do feel like I am improving my posture and using my lower abs more when I am wearing them.
...but at the end of the day all I want to do is take them off.
And the botox trend worries me. That's kinda like cooking over a hot stove with numb hands. Sooner or later you're going to burn your hand on a hot pan.
