Weapons of Joint Destruction.

Before you put on that pair of Manolo Blahniks, consider for a moment the ramifications:

Consider the unnatural joint position you must attain with your ankle just to stand in them. Now, consider movement – the range of motion (read: flexibility) requirements are stretched even further.

Hope your joint capsule can support it.

With all that stretching going on, you’ve got to have some heavy duty joint stresses on the ankle – shearing force on the small bones of the foot, unusual compressive forces, etc.

Not only that, but there’s the rest of the body to consider as well. Such an unusual ankle position affects gait, causing your knee and hip to relate differently, and over time this can cause joint issues as well (Harvard’s Dr. Casey Kerrigan found that women who wear high heels are at increased risk for osteoarthritis of the knee due to the increased knee torque).

Not to mention the effects on your lower back.

So, what can a gal do? Suffer the consequences of high fashion, or give up chicness forevermore?

I’m not one to tell you what you can or can’t do with your life. So if you want to wear high heels, then go ahead and wear ‘em. But make sure you take these precautions as well:

1. Strength train. A stronger joint (resulting from increased connective tissue strength and improved stability from stronger leg muscles) will be better able to resist the increased forces on your foot/ankle/knee/body.
2. Wear stilettos rather than chunkier heels. Surprisingly, Dr. Kerrigan’s studies found that there was greater knee torque (read: rotational stress on the knee joint) when wearing high, chunky heels as opposed to high, thin heels (26% vs. 22%). This suggests that stilettos are “safer” than their thicker counterparts (of course, Dr. Kerrigan found that low and no heeled shoes were safest).
3. Minimize grains and starches in your diet. There’s evidence that suggests a diet high in grains and starches increases inflammation, causing a greater chance of developing arthritis. By minimizing your ingestion of these foods, you may be able to stave off joint problems caused by arthritis and continue wearing your stylish footwear.