Healing Heels
The LA Times has a column in its health section today about a woman who decides to go to physical therapy after breaking her ankle so she can wear high heels to her daughter's wedding.
The woman initially put off the therapy recommended to her after she got her cast off and only acquiesced because of the shoe issue. Perhaps surprisingly, the physical therapist actually clears the woman to wear the heels after some treatment and a promise to practice prancing around in them for 10 minutes a day until the wedding.
Does this advice seem a little off? In recent years, we've been bombarded with research fervently claiming high heels are bad for our feet and can cause damage down the road. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) says nine out of 10 women wear shoes that are too small for their feet and eight out of 10 say their shoes are painful. Women are also nine times more likely to develop a foot problem because of ill-fitted footwear. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) last year revealed that when people in high heels walk down stairs, the dynamics of their gait shift, putting more force on the toe instead of the heel.
Thankfully, the woman in the LA Times column opts for "sensible wedges" instead of the prominent pumps. As we're getting into wedding and graduation season, many of your clients may be facing the same decision of whether to tuck their tootsies into too-tight, too-high contraptions or settle into softer supports. Take some of these factors into consideration when helping them choose the right shoe in which to strut.