Image from: http://www.nyu.edu

As ladies, we have historically been drawn to the high heel shoe. Whether it be for their sex apeal, their style or to simply give those that are not vertically gifted, a few extra inches. Some ladies have even gone as far as thinning down as well as having their pinky toe removed to fit in todays fashion footwear. A look at upcoming fashion trends for this year is revealing the high heel shoe is reaching new heights!

But are we hurting ourselves more than we know for the price of fashion?

We all know how we feel after having worn a heel for an extended period of time. The balls of our feet ache, our toes can get stacked one on top of the other, our backs are screaming in pain and when we take them off, our calve muscles feel about a kilometer shorter! Our bodies are telling us … “that was just too much.”

Biomechanist and foot expert Katy Bowman has written a book “Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Releif: the New Science of Healthy Feet”. Our entire body ends up compensating for the change which can lead to long term physical issues. A drastic change from heels flats can even cause tearing of the Achilles tendon. Not fun!

“Just say ‘No!’” she states in her book. The physical and sometimes permanent damage we are doing to our bodies is just not worth it in the long run. Bare feet at home and a natural barefoot shoe on the streets is best she states. Down the road, our knees, hips and back will thank us!

…. ‘these boots were made for walking …and that’s just what they’ll do’ … but not on a 6 inch incline!