How wearing high heels regularly can ruin the way you walk - even after you take them off

By DAISY DUMAS

Pretty, but painful: Australian scientists say that wearing heels changes the way a woman walks - even when in flats - so that she puts more strain on her calf muscles

Many women know that high heels are hardly the most comfortable, stable or practical shoe around - but persist in wearing them for obvious, confidence-boosting reasons.
In a first-of-its-kind study, new research goes beyond the 'no pain, no gain' anecdotal responses to high heels, looking at the lasting physiological implications of tottering on a three- to four-inch heel day after day.
Australian scientists have found that, by constantly forcing a foot into a 'plantarflexed' position, or downwardly pointed toes, women are changing their walking behaviour - at the risk of causing permanent damage to leg muscles.

Looking heely good: Victoria Beckham, heel fan incarnate, may have shortened calf muscles, according to the new research

Comparing a group of heel lovers with a control group of women, all of whom were aged between late teens and early 30s, who rarely wear heels, scientists asked women to walk without shoes to assess whether heels had changed the way they strode, reports the New York Times.
The Griffith University, Queensland, Scientists asked the women to walk along a 26-foot runway specially underlaid with sensors, said the newspaper. They monitored the varying forces of each foot on the ground as well as the action of joints and muscles.

The study, published this month in the Journal of Applied Physiology, found that even when walking in flats, high-heel devotees - those who have worn a 2inch plus heel for more than 40 hours a week over the preceding two years - have a neuromechanically adapted style of walking to that of non-heel wearers.
Flat shoe wearers look longer strides, using their tendons to walk rather than overly engaging their calves.
Heel wearers - Victoria Beckham, heel fan incarnate, take note - took shorter, more aggressive steps, putting more pressure on calf muscles, the Times said.
It's an inefficient way to walk, the team told the newspaper, with heel wearers needing to over-work their calf muscles in order to take steps, rather than relying on the tendons, which deftly control barefoot walking.

source: dailymail