Let’s not beat around the bush. I love shoes. I love heels. The higher the better as my 5’2″ frame begs for it. I love stilettos, pumps, wedges – not really a fan of kitten heels because they defeat the purpose to me. However, I am NOT a fan of bunions, hammer toes, and any other ailment that may arise from the often tragic turn of events with the wearing OF heels.
At the same Health Hot Buttons conference that I attended at Rush University Medical Center, there was a presentation on high-heeled shoe safety. It really intrigued me because I’ve seen my share of women who have forced their feet into shoes that are too small, or too tight, or whatever all in the name of fashion. I had the type of mother who wouldn’t let us get away with that type of stuff growing up, and I’ve never put being cute over being comfortable. Ask my mommy. She’ll agree emphatically.
Now, let’s not mistake that for me not LIKING to be attractive. Especially shoes. There’s something about being in an awesome heel. You walk taller (literally) and with a little bit more sass. Or is that just me? It also doesn’t hurt that the Mr. likes me in them as well.
Over the years, I’ve learned that I do best in wedges. The support through the ball of my foot up to my heel really helps. I stayed in my wedding shoes all day long and most people warned me that I would be barefoot before the reception started. Not so.
What I AM guilty of though is staying in shoes past the time that I should. No matter how comfortable a shoe is, your feet aren’t made to be in an upright position for bunches of hours on end. If you’re sitting, fine. But walking around, and on concrete at that, you’re just asking for trouble.
There are a couple of things that we learned that shoes with little to no support on the lower portion of your foot will do. It grinds away the fatty portion of the ball of your foot and guarantees you feel like you’re walking on pebbles. Essentially, you’re walking on the bones in your lower foot and making your situation worse.
No one wants skeleton feet while they’re still alive.
Here’s a small video to explain it a bit more:
So, are you following the golden rules of high heel shoe wearing? Or are you likely to be in the running for a bunion surgery?
I’m pretty good with my heel wearing. I wear some pretty funky shoes, but I always look for the characteristics that were mentioned. My shoe collection is massive, but I tend to buy the same type of heels. Also, if I get heels that I probably won’t be able to walk in for a long period of time, I reserve them as a “bedroom shoe.” Wait, was that too much information? 😀
I have bedroom shoes as well. Every girl needs them. 😉