5 Benefits of Not Wearing High Heels
High heels are some of the most commonly used shoes for women. Their shapes, colors, and different sizes help your figure stand out, and they also reflect an important part of your personality. They are also aesthetically appealing additions to many outfits. But they can be painful and bad for your body, so there are also some benefits to not wearing high heels.
However, after prolonged or continuous use, there are certain side effects on health that aren’t pleasant. For this reason, it’s important to take them into account before aesthetics. No matter how beautiful a pair of heels may look, if they’re going to cause pain for one or even several days, it’s not worth wearing them. Or at least, not for a long time.
While it’s okay to wear them from time to time, it’s best to avoid wearing them most of the time so you don’t risk developing discomfort in your back, legs, and other parts of your body.
The benefits of not wearing high heels
As we know, despite all this, many continue to wear them every day. So, on this occasion, we want to reveal the 5 benefits you’ll enjoy by not wearing high heels.
1. One of the benefits of not wearing high heels is avoiding back pain
Using high heels tilts your pelvis, making your glutes look much better. But the problem with this is it increases pressure on the lower part of the spine, along with the muscles in that area.
In certain cases, this can lead to a condition called spondylolisthesis, which is when one vertebra slides over another. This damages nerves and causes intense pain.
Once you take off your high heels, your spine returns to its initial position, and the pain and tension go away almost instantly. So, the less you wear high heels, the more you decrease your risk of suffering from back pain.
You might like: Relieve Heel Pain with These Exercises
2. No more Achilles heel soreness
When your heel is raised in high heels, it also exerts more pressure on your Achilles tendon, which can cause problems. People that have plantar fasciitis suffer from inflammation of the thick band that connects the heel to the toes, which makes existing pain even worse.
By lowering your shoe and replacing it with something more comfortable, your tendon will stop bothering you within a matter of weeks, and it will recover its normal length. All of the pain in your lower extremities will disappear because your muscle will finally be able to release excess tension.
3. Runner’s knee goes away
Another one of the benefits of not wearing high heels anymore, or so much, is that it could help get rid of your runner’s knee. This is a common term used by a lot of healthcare professionals to refer to conditions that affect this area of the body. It’s a type of injury caused by overuse in runners, but can also be caused by other activities that require constant flexion of the knee.
Wearing high heels moves your center of gravity forward, which increases the tension on tendons and ligaments in the knee. This creates not only intense pain, but also causes inflammation and difficulties in mobility.
Although there are several things that could cause this problem, you should also remember that high heels make up some of these factors.
4. Improved balance
No matter how much experience you have wearing high heels, you’re always at a greater risk of falling and getting injured. The excess strain on the muscles around the knee creates instability, therefore reducing balance.
Walking with flat shoes, however, improves the status of this muscle group, and helps it to function in the way it was designed. This helps promote stability and creates less probability of suffering from pain and recurrent falls.
5. Avoid varicose veins
Although there’s no scientific proof of the relationships between high heels and varicose veins, some experts agree that they do cause problems with circulation.
Wearing this type of shoe, especially stilettos, increases the pressure on your legs and makes it difficult for blood to circulate properly.
Because your body won’t be transporting blood properly, over time tiny spider veins and varicose veins will start to appear, which are generally a sign of some kind of problem. Of course, by choosing to wear flat, comfortable shoes, and not high heels, your circulation will return to normal, decreasing this risk.
Take advantage of the benefits of not wearing heels
So, while wearing high heels is an elegant, appropriate choice for some occasions, there are also a lot of benefits to not wearing them often if you can avoid it. So start wearing them less often, don’t take unnecessary risks.
We’re sure you can find other, healthier alternatives to look beautiful every day. Think of your body!
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
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- López López, D., García Mira, R., Alonso Tajes, F., & López López, L. (2010). Análisis del Perfil y Estilo de Vida de las personas con Patologías en los Pies. Revista Internacional de Ciencias Podológicas. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-004-0296-2
- Arias Rivera, S. (2005). Relajación sistemática para aliviar el dolor. Enfermeria Clinica. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1130-8621(05)71079-2
