High heels leave permanent marks on legs—and not just blisters

Back at the dawn of liberation, the sisters burned the wrong garments. They should have begun with high heels.

They had it right in the 1970s: a healthy and effective way to make yourself appear taller is to wear platform shoes. Hide the fact that you are wearing them with flared jeans.

After reading this article I am now inclined to believe my doctor who blamed my long history of tip-toeing for my calf injury in 2003. When it happened, I was wearing flats and was walking in a bit hurried pace when I felt like I was hit hard behind my leg. I looked back but no one/nothing was behind me. When I tried to step forward I could not lift my foot like it got disjointed from my leg. Doctor said my Achilles tendon snapped because I had short calf muscles from wearing high heeled shoes. Seven years later today, the visible reminder of the injury is a slightly thickened muscle around where it snapped plus a slight limping if I forget to pump the foot every time I have to get up.

It may not be as dangerous to health as smoking cigarettes but I think this will make for an interesting topic in our next Safety and Well-being Committee meeting.

Women think they dress for men. Women dont. Women dress for themselves and other women.

There are men that are just fine with women who are short, tall, thin and fat, sedentary or active, etc. If anything men are visual in the sense of face and over all body, especially if they have a predominant feature like legs, breasts, tush, etc.

But I know of no man that looks at a woman and critiques her clothes or is attracted to her because of her cloths and shoes. At most a guy will say she looks nice.

Guys who workout with bulging muscles do it more for themselves. There is a healthy sexual component but its quickly extinguished if he is more muscle than maturity. So guys study up and get a good job.

It is interesting that a magazine, which is admired around the world for its thorough economic analysis, only reports on the (marginal) costs of wearing high heels. Why do women do it if there were not any benefits from it?

Modern high heel shoe designs were developed to accentuate the curves of a woman's leg during walking and siting, artfully extending the line of the legs to make them appear longer. Higher heels put abnormal stress on the tendons and muscles of the leg and lower back, stress knees and hip joints and misaligning lower back vertebra. Narrowed, pointy toes in these shoes also cause foot bone alignment changes and stress-point inflammation on the side and bottom of the foot.

Some studies have suggested that 2'' (rise of 15 degree from floor) high heels improve posture the muscle tone of the pelvic floor.

Women wear high-heels to improve a women's sexual attractiveness and self-esteem. The benefits, over time, may not be worth cost the cost, when heel heights greater than 2" are worn daily. The best approach is to wear high heels sparingly, and to choose lower heel heights for business and formal occasion, and flats for everyday pedestrian travel, to ensure that a variety of leg and foot bone stress and muscle stretching occurs.

Balance, muscle tone and tendon/muscle/bone strength can be improved by muscle strengthening and moderate aerobic exercise, which can reduce the risk of injury from wearing high heels, as well as improve the appearance of legs.

The mysterious discomfort mentioned in the article may have more to do with abnormal changes in the gait and balance that force bones and tendons to accommodate altered stride and stress-strain vectors running through ankles, knees, pelvis/hips and into the spine.

Those who will wear high heels will wear high heels because the psychological/emotional feelings one enjoys wearing them outweighs the physical pain. Tim Driscoll in New York City taught me some fantastic exercises to lessen the physical pain so that the emotional/psychological benefits of wearing high heels are even more fun. His High Heel Recovery Clinic combines Pilates moves with heel-to-hamstring-to sit bone connection....for greater awareness of body movement and strength overall. One cannot Tango with grace in heels under 3 inches so these exercises are crucial to my enjoyment at milongas!

To cs96 who stated "women think they dress for men..." and anyone else who believes this: No, dears, women do not dress for men.

Where are the amazing shoes from in the picture? I want a pair!