High heels are sassy, sexy and learning to walk in them is an art in itself. Is it healthy to be shoving our toes into an elegant pair of Jimmy Choo's or should we be shunning the stiletto for its flat-footed cousin? Also, is there such a thing as a high heel that's good for you?
Wedding celebrant, Veronica Pappas, spends a lot of time on her feet, and those feet are usually balancing in high heels. But Veronica has paid a price for her passion for fashion.
"High heels do it for me and I've always worn them since I was young and I love them, but lately, I wore them far too long and they did cause a problem," she says.
Veronica suffered crippling back pain that lasted for weeks.
"I couldn't put my foot on the floor, I could hardly breathe with the pain, it was unbelievable," she says.
Veronica has no intention of giving up heels but it's been a lesson learned.
"I love high heels, they're beautiful, but I never want to go through that pain again."
Your back isn't the only part of your body to suffer. Feet are also in the firing line.
Brenden Brown is a podiatrist who sees about 500 women every year with problems caused by wearing heels.
He says that damage can be inflicted by high heels over a period of one day or 40 years. Each person is different and the effects of wearing heels will differ on everybody.
He says the reason high heel wearers suffer back pain is your body's centre of gravity is thrust forward. High heels cause the forefoot to overwhelm the joints and the toes. Osteoarthritis can also be caused by high heels because the soft tissue overcompensates when under strain.
So yes, high heels are bad for your health. But is there such a thing as a high heel that's good for you, and does height and width make a difference? To find out Leila met with Dr Casey Kerrigan, who is a Professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, USA.
Dr Kerrigan has been studying the impact of heels on our body since the late '90s. And, unfortunately, heel lovers, it's not good news. We already know wearing high shoes can injure your backs and feet, but that's not all …
According Dr Kerrigan, women have twice as much knee arthritis compared to men and nobody's been able to figure out why. She says if you look at it from a biomechanical perspective, then it makes sense that shoe wear would affect the knee.
Dr Kerrigan's research shows that wearing a stiletto puts 25 percent more pressure on your poor old knees and hips, each time you take a step. Surprisingly, wide heels aren't a step up.
"The fact that wide heels feel more comfortable and may have a wider forefoot, as well as a strap, you actually then trust the shoe more and therefore put more forces through the shoe," she says.
So is there any kind of shoe we can safely wear?
According to Dr Kerrigan, "a perfect shoe should be a shoe with hardly any support at all and with no heel, at the very most a half inch of a heel."
Yes girls drag out those thongs, which are perfect, so long as you don't trip in them. It's a great choice because it doesn't provide any support whatsoever.
But many high heel wearers won't give up their stilettos without a fight. Now they're appealing to a whole new generation of fans, like transsexual Ricca Paris who refuses to give up her heels, even though, as the public face of Sydney bar, Stonewall, she's on them from dusk 'til dawn, five nights a week.
"I just feel I look better in them. I think they're very flattering — I mean, a beautiful dress and a pair of sneakers just don't go down I'm afraid," she says.
But lately she's been suffering some back pain. So Ricca's consulted chiropractor Adrian Dennewald for help.
Ricca seems to be suffering from aggravation through that lumbar spine joint with associated muscle spasms and she has a pelvic imbalance. No doubt Ricca wearing heels 12 hours a day for five to six days a week is going to have a toll on her body," says Adrian.
Adrian recommends a regime of yoga, Pilates and stretches to help Ricca keep her spine in great shape.
He says there are steps any of us can take to limit the damage high heels cause. Start with stretches, such as ones for the hamstring, work your hip flexors and extensors — these all help your flexibility.
Another key aid is to exercise your core muscles to increase stability.
Adrian says high heels can give you a lower backache in the lumber spine. He says the postural muscles are conditioned to cope with high heels, but it is an unnatural job for the muscles to perform, which is why you get the back pain. The core muscles need to act as stabilisers for the spine, so if you are going to wear high heels you need to activate the core (stomach area).
So the truth is out. Wearing those gorgeous high heels can do damage to your knees, back and feet. But when it comes to style, you just can't beat a good stiletto, so if you really can't give them up, try to limit the amount of time you spend wearing them, strengthen your abdominal muscles and if you're still in pain see a podiatrist or a chiropractor.
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