High heels may make the calves look slimmer, but stop the feet abuse before it’s too late.
 You enter a shoe shop after a tough week and you want some serious retail therapy. All around you are gorgeous wedges, ballet flats, stilettos, strappy heels, and pointy sky high boots.
But before you go wild and give your credit card a good workout, stop and ask if you are doing justice to your feet.
An average person walks over 10,000 steps in 15 hours daily. This roughly translates into 115,000 km in a lifetime, over four times the circumference of our planet. The force bearing on the feet can reach several hundred tons during that time, making them susceptible to injuries from ill-fitting footwear.
Unsurprisingly, people who have foot pain because of this are mainly women.
“The men don’t get it. Why? You know those pointy heels women love wearing,” said Mr Peter Cave, managing director and orthotist with In-Step Footcare. “We call them killer heels.”
With high heel shoes, feet are raised and slide towards the front. Toes are thus squeezed into the narrow toe box, leading to calluses, neuromas and stress fractures over time, he added.
Foot types
Each foot comprises 26 small bones, 33 joints and 107 ligaments, 31 tendons besides a network of blood vessels and nerves.
Foot types are based on high, normal and low arch height. A person can have a different type for each foot.
Low arch
Those with low arches have their feet rolling inward (pronating) excessively to absorb the shock when walking or running. Flat feet happen when the arches collapse.
Normal arch
Pressure is evenly distributed from the heel to the ball of the foot, absorbing shock and preventing injuries effectively.
High arch
The arch is too rigid, making it difficult for the foot to roll inward to absorb impact. This may lead to underpronation, causing pain in the heels, knees and lower back.
About 95 per cent of the population worldwide experiences foot related problems such as arch imbalances between the left and right foot, said Mr Cave. A person may not realise it until external factors set in, like muscles weakening from ageing or strain, obesity or walking for long periods in shoes without adequate arch support.
“Pressure from walking is shifted to other parts of the feet, leading to bad posture and musculoskeletal pain up to the spine and neck,” he added. “Everything starts from the feet so we must get this foundation right.” |