2195 Wide heels bad for your knees
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 11:31:21 +0100
From: Ecsedy Áron <aron.ecsedy@OM.HU>
Subject: Wide heels bad for your knees
Something against it...
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more scientific info: https://www.ynhh.org/healthlink/womens/womens_6_01.html =
<https://www.ynhh.org/healthlink/womens/womens_6_01.html>
Wide heels bad for your knees
Everyone knows that wearing stiletto heels is bad for your feet, knees and back.
But it does not matter how narrow or wide the heel is - platform shoes can be damaging too.
Even strappy block heels, comfortable as they may feel, are bad for your knees.
New research shows that chunky heels are just as bad for the knees as spindly stilettos.
Women who want to add height and walk comfortably opt for wide heels.
Because these more comfortable shoes can be tolerated for longer than stilettos, they are just as likely to cause knee arthritis, scientists =
reported in The Lancet medical journal recently.
'It takes a long time to feel the effects of knee osteo-arthritis - and once you do, it's too late,' said Dr Casey Kerrigan.
Dr Kerrigan is a lead researcher of the study and associate professor at Harvard Medical School's department of physical medicine and =
rehabilitation.
'I liken it to smoking - one cigarette is not painful, but over a lifetime it is. Wide-heeled shoes feel comfortable, so women wear them =
all day long,' Dr Kerrigan said.
'They are better for your feet than stiletto heels, but just as bad for your knees,' she said.
In the study, researchers asked 20 women to wear two pairs of shoes with 7.6-cm heels, one with a narrow heel and the other with a thick one.
The scientists compared how much pressure was put on the women's knees by both types of shoes.
The women also walked barefoot to provide a reading of normal pressure.
The scientists found that both types of shoe applied equal amounts of pressure to the knees.
Compared to going barefoot, the heels increased pressure on the inside of the knee by 26 per cent.
Increased pressure on the knee eventually leads to arthritis, experts say.
The only sensible solution: wear flats.
The idea that high-heels are bad for your health is not new.
Scientists have warned women for years that these shoes contribute to a range of problems, including:
corns and calluses
hammer toes
tendinitis
knee pain
sprained ankles
back problems.
'This article confirms what we all intuitively know - that high-heeled shoes of any kind are not good for our health,' said Dr Glenn Pfeffer, =
who is a San Francisco orthopaedic surgeon and member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
'Clearly this is a red flag saying, 'don't fool yourself into thinking that because you are wearing a wider heel that you won't have any =
problems',' Dr Pfeffer said. -- AP
April 2001
