Lovely High Heels and Stilettos Are Not So Lovely for Your Back!

Ooh la la! Those high heels, particularly stilettos, are beautiful! Satterwhite Chiropractic may even believe them beautiful, but ... "To wear or not to wear?" ... that is the question.

Apologies, gals! Unless there's a runway in Oxford, you may want to shy away from those high heels. They make the leg look long, but may stress the back muscles and even the neck muscles! The research is leaning heavily towards the "don't wear" department than the "wear" category, but why? That's a little blurred.

So, let's think about the "wear 'em" research - Younger women show an increase in pelvic range of motion in the sagittal plane in the midst high-heeled gait in contrast with low-heeled gait and walking without shoes. Sadly, middle-aged women don't receive this response. (3) Hum? Not too much in the "wear 'em" research which doesn't dazzle your Oxford chiropractor.

Now, let's look at the "don't wear 'em" research - erector spinae muscles get taxed which may lead to muscle overuse and lower back pain (1); lumbar lordosis is increased which may lead to lower back pain (2); cervical paraspinal muscle activity escalates especially in 45-55 year olds which leads to the advice to not wear stilettos as it is dangerous and may progress to chronic paraspinal muscle fatigue (3); high-heeled walking challenges the nervous system as it requires a more complicated and less predictable pattern of ankle control than barefooted walking (4). Heels put your spine, lower back and neck even at risk for pain.

So, we chiropractors typically recommend not wearing high heeled shoes or stilettos, choosing to err on the side of caution. Satterwhite Chiropractic does know some Oxford women who love their high heels, so we just ask you to be careful. Wear them limitedly. If you have any increased back pain, drop down to a pair of lovely flats, and contact us for a chiropractic treatment to re-align your spine and relieve your neck pain and back pain. It's all a matter of balance...in shoes and life!

See you soon!