In the early 16th century, Venetian noblewomen hobbled around on high platform shoes called chopines. These shoes, resembling silk-covered stilts, were so high that most courtesans traveled with attendants to balance them. Chopines evolved into the high-heeled shoes we know today, but to some, women’s footwear still seems as uncomfortable and impractical as it first was. A new study finds that high heels aren’t just uncomfortable—they change a woman’s legs.
Research from the Manchester Metropolitan University found that women who consistently wear high heels have shorter calf muscles than women who wear flats. Lead researcher Marco Narici says he was inspired to examine women’s legs after hearing stories of secretaries in the 1950s who wore high heels every day and complained of pain when they donned flat shoes. Physicians have long been telling their patients that high heels damage calf muscles, but no one actually examined women’s calves.
Using an ultrasound scan, Narici imaged the muscles of 11 women who wore high heels (and claimed to be in pain in flat shoes) and compared them to women who did not consistently wear heels.
The ultrasound revealed that the women who wore heels had calf muscles that were 13 percent shorter than the others. Heel wearers have sharper angles to their feet, most likely due to the smaller muscles. High heel wearers also had thicker and stiffer tendons.
The researchers believe the reason chronic heel wearers feel pain when switching to flats is because their tendons cannot stretch out properly.
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Now, my question with this is: how high were the heels (on average) of the women studied? Is the muscle loss/shortness the same for women who wear 2″-3″ or higher heels consistently vs. women who wear smaller kitten heels? Or is the elevated heel position alone the cause?
posted by Mary on 7-27-2010 at 4:51 pm
Awesome. I’ve always wondered about this.
My barbie dolls growing up had this very problem.
posted by Kelsey on 7-27-2010 at 4:51 pm
Crocs may be hideous, but they are the counter to this culture. LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!
posted by Bakedpotatoes on 7-27-2010 at 4:57 pm
@Mary:
Short answer – The elevated heel position alone will cause this, just not as quickly or severely.
Long answer – All high heels, regardless of height, force the ankle joints into plantar flexion (like standing tip-toed) as long as the shoes are worn. This doesn’t weaken the calf muscles, it stregthens them, too much.
The easiest way to avoid calf, foot and ankle pain due to wearing high heels is to stop wearing any and all high heels.
If this is not an option, there are other steps you can take. Daily calf stretches will begin to loosen and legthen the shortened muscles. Massage to the lower legs will help this as well. Finally, adding toe raises to your daily exercise routine will strengthen the opposing leg muscles.
posted by ChelleSweetleaf on 7-27-2010 at 5:39 pm
See, and here is my proof for all these years of not wearing heels! That, and the fact that I am too uncoordinated to wear heels.
I wonder if a nice stretch after wearing heels would prevent some of this damage – because no one wears heels (or shoes) for 24 hours a day.
posted by Sara on 7-27-2010 at 5:47 pm
finally, a way to shorten these pesky long calf muscles!
posted by tiffany on 7-27-2010 at 7:40 pm
This required a study?
Um, duh?
posted by jess on 7-27-2010 at 7:57 pm
Also, baked, please look into (google?) the Croc injuries. I wish I was kidding.
posted by jess on 7-27-2010 at 7:58 pm
Try wearing heels at an internship all day then rushing to track practice and running in sneakers.
That was my whole spring. yuck. I still wear heels to my current job, but I’ve been converted to a smaller heel.
posted by Meg on 7-27-2010 at 9:12 pm
I suppose this would also happen if, say, you walked on your toes for 12+ years? I’ve always stayed away from flats (’cause of pain) and even had to quit Dressage riding (’cause I couldn’t straighten my feet out enough for my trainer). :(
Anyway to counteract the shortening?
posted by Ashley on 7-27-2010 at 10:27 pm
Funny that there’s an advertisement for designer heels at the bottom of the page!
This doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I’ve always been more of a flip-flops or sneakers kinda girl & every time I’ve donned high heels for special occasions (they are few & far between) I’m barely able to walk by the end of the night. I’ve taken to planning my wardrobe ahead of time if I know high heels are going to be involved. I wear a nice long skirt (or dress) so that when the heels start to hurt like crazy, I can take them off & leave them under the table with no one being any wiser ;)
posted by sammylee on 7-27-2010 at 10:37 pm
@ Ashley:
I’d say talk to a doctor and see if there are any exercises he or she can recommend that would help strengthen your calves. You may not be able to fully reverse the changes in your muscles, but at least you can try to train your legs to compensate for the difference. If it works for physical therapy purposes it’s certainly worth a try!
posted by sammylee on 7-27-2010 at 10:39 pm
So if you wear high heels flats will hurt, and if you wear flats than high heels will hurt.
Why ever wear high heels to begin with?
posted by SarahofBorg on 7-27-2010 at 11:34 pm
traffic ” low spark of highheeld boys “
posted by dirk alan on 7-28-2010 at 12:31 am
Can you say plantar faciaitis? That is what I was diagnosed with (and let me tell you it really hurts!!). Tried all the stretching exercises, wore the Spanish Inquisition type appliance to keep my foot in normal position at night (which I was able to keep on for about 20 mins at night before ripping it off and throwing it across the room). My cure consisted of only wearing heels for special occasions. I now wear flats or ‘kittn heels’ on a regular basis. My feet thank me
posted by JaneM on 7-28-2010 at 8:49 am
One of my best friends has had chronic leg, hip, and muscle pain for years, and she claimed that by shortening her calf muscles, wearing heels actually helps with the pain.
posted by BlueAloe on 7-28-2010 at 9:38 am
I can’t walk in flats. I fall down and there is pain. No one ever believes me. I’m posting this article on facebook.
posted by Caitlin on 7-28-2010 at 9:46 am
Hmm…doesn’t 11 women seem like a pretty small sample?
posted by coramandragora on 7-28-2010 at 12:14 pm
Did anyone think that maybe the women who prefer heels over flats did so because there tendons are naturally less flexible? That they gravitated towards the heel? That maybe the heel didnt cause the stiffened tendons, but they had it already and thats why it hurt when they wore flats? Is the high heel really the cause of the stiffer tendons?
Just wondering…
posted by Jaime on 7-28-2010 at 12:22 pm
Dirk: That is a BEAUTIFUL song that I have not heard in years, thank you for reminding me of it. I’m going to go a-googlin’ tonight.
I’ve been hearing anecdotal evidence for this for years. I know a woman at work who wears heels around the house because walking barefoot hurts. Insanity! I love shoes as much as the next girl but all mine are flats, thanks.
… Well. Except that one pair of wedges.
posted by Nicole on 7-28-2010 at 12:38 pm
Why do women think they HAVE to wear heels at the workplace to look professional? My dress code at my job is business casual and I have super cute flats of all sorts that I wear to work everyday because I refuse to wear heels. So to all those women who whine about wearing heels all the time, cry me a river, it’s not like you don’t have a choice.
posted by Laura on 7-28-2010 at 1:42 pm
I used to wear heels all the time when I worked in retail. Then came a manufacturing job, where I had to wear steel-toed shoes (and boy-o-boy did they ever ruin my feet!) Now I have an office job, wear business-casual, and I live in my Birkies… I have Fibromyalgia, so there is pain no matter what, but I no longer have enough balance to wear heels. I tip over. I don’t lose my balance in Birkies.
posted by Mama9cats on 7-29-2010 at 12:52 pm