Be aware! Wearing high heels can be the cause of knee pain

Woman and beauty have always come together like peanut butter and jelly. High heels are also the key to enhance woman’s beauty and built-up confidence. The higher the heels are, the more confidence those ladies have. But, do you know that wearing high heels can be harmful to you?
Dangers of wearing high heels

The most noticeable danger of wearing high heels is the risk of falling over which could lead to sprain ankle when the ankle is flexed. Plus, if you wear high heels for a long time, you may experience pain on the back or the buttock because the pressure is put to the front part of your foot. Your body tends to fall forward while you are trying to pull it backwards to keep the balance and that puts a lot of work to your back and buttock and, in turn, causes the pain.
Other than that, it also affects the knees. Have you ever experienced the shooting pain or cracking sound on your knees while walking up or down the stairs? If the answer is yes, then you are now having problem with your knees. Only walking up and down the stairs alone could increase the pressure to your knees, and doing so with high heels makes it even worse. When you wear high heels for prolonged period of time, you may feel the pain due to the chondromalacia patellae, runner’s knee, which caused by the rubbing of the patella, kneecap, against the thigh bone. Wearing high heels could cause the weak thigh muscles and the imbalanced patella, resulting in deteriorated patella.
There are plenty of ways to cure chondromalacia patella without surgery, such as, taking medication or physical therapy. But, if it is severe and surgery is necessary, you need to find the root cause. Chondromalacia patella requires surgery-arthroscopy to smoothen the joint surface. Leaving them untreated for a long time can lead to osteoarthritis caused by wear and tear on the joint. If that happens, then you need amajor surgery to replace or realign the joint which also meant a long recovery time. Hence, your doctor would not suggest you to wait until that time.
The essential treatments are physical therapy and exercise. Strengthening your thighs can prevent the recurrence and reduce the risk of osteoarthritis.

Do you have to stop wearing high heels?

Some people might tell you to stop wearing high heels or change into flats since it is dangerous. However, flat shoes can actually cause Achilles tendonitis, an inflammation of a tendon as well. Excessive walking on flat shoes can tighten and hurt the back of your heel. The best solution for this dilemma is to go in the middle path, not too flat and not too high. The most important thing is exercise regularly. Do not let yourself gaining too much weight since it can increase the chance of knee problems.

What you should do if you still want to wear high heels

You still can wear high heels, but the heel height should not exceed 1-2 inches. If you sit or walk in an office, you should also bring a change of shoes that are more comfortable so that you relax your feet. Exercise regularly on the thigh helps strengthening the muscle. Also, soaking your feet in warm water and giving yourself a foot massage allow you to be at ease and improve the blood circulation. With all these tips provided, you can easily be happy and confident wearing high heels and, at the same time, be safe but still look gorgeous.
S Spine and Nerve Hospital, the specialist hospital in spine and nervous system