Clad in her office wear, she is ready to go to work. She gives a final touch to her make-up. Nevertheless, she achieves that total look only when she puts on her high heeled shoes.“I don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot,” American actress Marilyn Monroe famously said.
Ages ago, women butchers are said have worn heels to walk above the body of dead animals. Later, horse riders wore them to hold their foot in the stirrups.
And, gone are the days when women wore high-heeled shoes to appear tall. Now they need their high heels to look professional in office wear and attractive in party wear, is the perception of many women.
“Heels make a big difference to the way a person walks,” said 24-year-old financial accountant Rashmi Thalangala. “I wear kitten heels for office and high heels for parties.”
Erandi Kulathunga, 23, said she wears high heeled shoes only to office. “With office clothes, you have to wear high heels,” said the customer service executive.
Yet another reason to wear heels is as a confidence booster. E-marketing executive Thahani Rilwan, 20, says she attends conferences in connection with her job and she gains confidence wearing high heels.
Heels come in different varieties. There are short and slim kitten heels and thick puppy heels. While cone and prism heels are narrow towards the bottom, there are wedge heels that cover the space under the arch and heel portions of the foot. Starting from a minimum height of two inches, stilettos can be as high as six inches and pointed.
Yet for all the aesthetics, there is a flipside to wearing heels that is commonly felt among the users.
Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Ananda Perera of Sri Jayawardenapura General Hospital said a “significant amount” of teenagers and young girls consult him with health problems related to wearing high heels. Briefing the Sunday Times about the health risks of wearing high heels, the doctor said three regions of the body can be affected – the foot and ankle, calf muscle and knee, pelvis and back regions.
“When you wear high heels, weight bearing comes to the metatarsal point, which is the base of the bone of the toes,” said Dr. Perera. He explained that more weight is applied on the bones between the ankle and toe region (metatarsals) and it can cause pain in the sole of the foot, called forefoot pain.
“There can also be swelling or pain in the midtarsal region and if this persists, it might lead to midtarsal arthritis,” he added.
The centre of gravity, which is supposed to be along the body axis, is pushed forward on wearing high heels. “The centre of gravity will fall in front of the ankle joint on wearing heels. This causes anterior ankle pain.”
Dr Perera said calf muscles will also be under strain, as the body tries to balance the knee backwards due to the change in the centre of gravity. This might lead to calf muscle pain as well as anterior knee pain. “Some people may develop pain in the heel,” said the doctor.
Thirdly, in the back region, muscle spasm can be developed. “To keep the spine straight (erect), a lot of muscles in the back need to act. This gives severe muscle pain in the lower back,” explained the doctor.
There are some who don’t fancy high heels after experiencing one of the many ill effects of wearing them.
“When I started working, I used to wear heels. I stopped it after three months as I felt uncomfortable,” said Deshani Perera, 25, who works in an IT firm. “My legs started aching and I couldn’t walk fast. With sarees, I wear small heels.” On a similar note, Annesta Andrew, a student, said, “I use short heels for parties, but very rarely.”
Local fashion designers themselves offer practical advice. Designer Sonali White de Silva says that while wearing heels for an occasion is advisable, “to carry yourself, you need some kind of heels” she is not in favour of really high heels as seen on catwalks. “Some girls go to the extent of wearing heels up to six or seven inches. “We never recommend really high heels, because it gives stress on the foot. Most of them go for it by choice.”
Wedge heels are comfortable as they help balance the weight and the height as well, she added.
In fact, wearing heels of one inch is better than flat footwear, says Dr. Perera. “There is an arch between the heel and the toes and footwear with one-inch heels will fit on to the foot better than completely flat slippers. There can be pain in the sole of the foot if the slippers are flat.”
So there you have it. A few points to bear in mind the next time you go shoe shopping and see a heel you can’t resist. |
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