Ditch your heels now. It is good for you
What is more fabulous than a good pair of heels to pull off an outstanding outfit? They make us feel feminine, bold and professional. They are beautiful and most women own different kinds of heel. However, prolonged use of high heels could affect your body in the following ways.
Posture
Body posture is the position of your limbs and body when sitting, standing or even lying down. Prolonged use of high heels alters the body’s natural position. “You cannot balance your body weight on a small piece of wood or metal and think it will not have a negative impact on your body. It strains the back and overexerts the toes, putting the body in an unnatural posture that will bring you backache, especially the lower back in the longrun,” says Dr Muhamed Makanga of AAR Makerere in Kampala.
Bones and joints
Wearing high heels puts the body in an irregular posture, generating infliction to the bones and joints. “High heels affect the natural position of bones in the body and they also strain the joints, traversing to bone deformity and joint pain,” Dr Muhamed Makanga warns. High heels could also induce premature aging of the knees and osteoarthritis.
Muscles
Heels hurt muscles, tendons and toes.” High heels strain the muscles affecting the normal balance of weight in the body. It distorts the muscles because, instead of the weight of the body resting on the entire foot, it is all exerted on the toes, hurting muscles and tendons in the process,” says Dr Atuhura Roland of Agahan Clinic at Metroplex Mall Nalya. Wearing high heels affect mainly the achilles tendon which connects your ankle to your calf. Wearing high heels every day may shorten and harden the achilles tendon, which can cause pain.
Keep heels on the minimal
“You cannot do away with high heels. Women need them to be smart for particular occasions. The proper way to deal with this is to keep high heels on the minimal. That is why some ladies have two pairs of shoes.
They put on the high heels for formal events and when it is time for walking and more intense work, they put on flats.” Dr Atuhura recommends.
