Having lived in walking boots or trainers for the majority of this year (thanks COVID lockdown/working from home), it came as a bit of a shock to my body today when I wore ankle boots with what I would consider a small 3 inch heel.
These boots would usually carry me happily through a shopping trip without problem but when I caught a glance of myself in a shop window, I was aghast at my reflection!
Starting at the top, my upper body was pushed forward and struggling to maintain any sense of which way up it should be. My hips and pelvis, whilst I normally have a slight anterior pelvic tilt (I stick my bum out a bit), was way more exaggerated. My knees and calves were aching and the balls of my feet were on fire!
Why do we do this to ourselves girls?
1) It makes us taller and accentuates the shape of our calves
2) It makes us feel more feminine
3) Flat shoes are ugly
But don't forget that wearing heels for a prolonged period of time can cause a number of issues to your body:
Feet - as the weight distribution and gait changes, pressure bears down on the front of the foot and can encourage blisters, bunions and even damage to nerves, muscles and joints.
Ankles - the achilles tendon and calf muscles get used to a shortened position and causing stiffness when walking (particularly first thing in the morning).
Knee problems - knees are our greatest shock absorbers and the change in walking can create extra wear and tear encouraging early signs of arthritis.
Hips - our hips adapt this new way of walking by over working the outer hip muscles and tendons.
Back - as our lower back is pulled into an exaggerated curve, this puts a huge amount of strain on the stabiliser muscles that keep us upright causing lower back pain.
Now's the time to consider the choice of footwear when out and about this Autumn. Choose flat and well supported shoes for prolonged use, try and have periods of no shoes when you get home and leave the killer heels to the weekend.
Some boots were definitely not made for walking.