Would You Give Up High Heels for Health? Researchers Say They're Evil and Addictive--Agree?
By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine
I love high heels as much as any Glamour girl, and while I wear them less and less now (ahem, I work from home in yoga pants!), I would be pretty hard-pressed to give them up entirely. But, researchers are encouraging women to do just that, citing tendon and muscle damage and even calling them "addictive." Your thoughts?
Speaking of heels, according to a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, reported by LiveScience, regular high-heel wearing can lead to damaging changes in the calf muscle and tendons--even to the degree than women may feel pain when not wearing stilettos. In other words, heels can become addictive.
According to the report: "The high-heel habit can cause fibers in the calf muscle to shorten, and the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscle to the bone, to stiffen and become thicker. While this set-up doesn't pose problems when the heel is propped up, it can lead to discomfort when standing or walking around flat-footed because the muscle and tendon are stretched beyond their normal range of movement."
While it pains me to think that heels may be unhealthy (noooooo!), I do love that flats and other strappy shoes--even low heels--can fill the void of stilettos in most situations. And as much as I love high heels, and do wear them, I'm with Oprah: If they hurt, I just don't have the patience for them. Life is too short to go around in shoes that wreck your bod.
Thoughts? Do you wear heels a lot? Do you find that they're "addictive"?
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