SHARES
Walk, walk fashion baby
High heels are something you see women commonly wear; these things are great not only to boost looks but also to increase your height upon wearing. As a male myself, there have instances where I would want to feel taller and be more confident for the day but heels aren’t the option for me so I resorted to alternatives like creeper shoes or insert shoe lifts into my boots. So having to put multiple inserts in my own shoes, I get the same feeling of wearing heels and I got to say, it was mostly unpleasant hence led me to write about them today. I sometimes wonder how men in the past manage themselves around walking in heels.
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Of course we do see high heels being sported in all shapes, sizes and heights by celebrities especially but has it ever occurred to you that it may be harmful? Beauty definitely comes with a price, which in this case isn’t paid monetarily.
You don’t call it ‘killer heels’ for nothing
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Firstly, high heels causes foot pain and sore calves. It is easily noticeable that women who wear heels may exhibit protruding veins and even their bones. In most cases this effect is irreversible thus making the feet look completely unpleasant.
Internally, high heels also constrict blood vessels in the sense that the wearer would have to force their feet into an uncomfortable shoe shape. This leads to blood flows being at the risk of bursting due to the constriction of blood vessels caused by the shoes.
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Posture would be our next concern when we wear high heels too. While wearing these shoes, it forces our feet to slide forward and our toes could end up in two possible ways; being curled tightly forward in closed shoes or being squeezed into a pointy position. Both are nevertheless extremely uncomfortable too. Our spine is affected the most, since the heels make our lower back more arched which further causes back pain and muscles being overused due to a poor alignment.
Learn the easy simple ways of reducing the risk of getting hurt and minimize damages
Rather than only addressing the problem with these beautiful ‘feet enhancers’, it is also important to know of the solutions we can resort to in order to curb the issue.
One can always opt to wear heels lesser! Try to add in more variations of flat shoes into your feet wardrobe choices and alternate them to your liking. We’re not asking you to completely stop wearing them, just wear them lesser and give your feet some time to rest. Try wearing heels on days where walking is done minimally as well.
If you do insist on wearing them often, add on a couple of soft insoles into them to increase the comfort on your feet upon wearing them. Soft insoles can be obtained anywhere and they’re cheap but help to cushion the pressure and pain inflicted from accommodating your feet in an uncomfortable shape for hours.
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Furthermore, you can also try to perform calf and muscle stretching exercises right before and after wearing heels. A simple stretching exercise like dropping a pencil on the floor and picking it up with your feet is more than enough to prepare your feet into walking in heels for the day.
Hence, I would suggest high heels to be worn moderately to avoid incurring the problems stated above. You might feel a little tinier on the days where you wear flats and get surrounded by tall people, but comfort should be a priority over them.
With that being said, how often do you wear your heels? What are the steps that you have taken to combat the discomfort?
by Nicky Lee
Your typical neighbourhood ah pek who roams on the internet to satisfy his curiosity. Bold. Loud. Talkative. View all articles by Nicky Lee.
