Should High Heels Come With A Warning Label?

Oct. 10, 2012 - PRLog -- Ahhh… nothing sexier than a hunchback, huh? Swaybacks…now they’re in style this season.  Persistent pain, complicated (and sometimes risky) surgery and dramatic lifestyle restrictions… that’s something to look forward to. What’s with all the doom and gloom?  One prominent spine surgeon says that wearing high heels on a regular basis can cause some women to develop a wide range of serious medical conditions – with the higher the heel, the more severe the pain. If Hooman Melamed, M.D. has his way, the likes of Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik will begin slapping warning labels on their designer shoeboxes.        
“Wearing high heels throws off one’s center of gravity so instead of your weight being centered over your feet, it’s thrust forward, which can cause muscle and joint pain and leave one more susceptible to injury,” said Melamed.  “Add to that foot deformities, an unnatural change in back posture, knee osteoarthritis and balance impairment and you have a recipe for lifelong problems.”
   The unnatural position of feet when wearing high heels eventually fatigues the muscles in one's back and legs, leaving joints and ligaments unprotected and more susceptible to injury and pain.  
“I realize that women are not going to entirely give up wearing heels because many of them consider them to be an expression of who they are,” said Melamed.  “But I think they should avoid wearing them on a regular basis.  If they feel they must, then they should strengthen their abdominal muscles and regularly engage Pilates to offset the damage.  I also hope that manufacturers and designers begin issuing warning labels so that the public is aware of potential injuries and steps they can take to mitigate them."          
Melamed practices at Disc Sports and Spine Center, 13160 Mindanao Way, Suite 300,
Marina del Rey, CA 90292.  For more information, call (310) 574-0405 or visit www.thespinepro.com.