Vim & Vigor - Summer 2014 - Community Healthcare - 40

through it. This is especially true, he says, if your
spine already curves forward more than normal.
High heels also exert pressure on the fat pads under
the ball of your foot, causing intense localized pain
called metatarsalgia.
Stilettos, distinguished by thin, tapering heels,
create even greater instability, and can make your
foot wobble and cause ankle sprains.
THE FIX: Consider platforms, wedges or chunky high
heels; they offer height but also, typically, more cushion. Critically, they spread the load and impact of each
step across a greater surface area, Rajagopalan says.

CULPRIT 2

TIGHT SHOES
CULPRIT 1

HIGH HEELS

"A normal arch acts as a shock absorber for the entire
body," explains Bal Rajagopalan, MD-aka Dr. Raj-a
Beverly Hills, Calif., orthopedic surgeon and a medical
consultant for ABC News. "Each time you take a step,
you're loading up to ﬁve times your body weight onto
that foot. A 6-inch heel typically has a 60 percent angle,
which not only overloads the forefoot but also deforms
the arch and reduces shock absorption and leads to
inﬂamed nerves in your toes." It can also shorten the
calf muscles, which may cause inﬂammation of the
Achilles tendon, resulting in painful tendinitis.
Eventually, all this distortion creates structural
instability, Rajagopalan says, and can cause compression in the spine, which impinges the nerves running

The majority of today's high-fashion footwear is
designed with a narrow, pointed proﬁle that doesn't
bear much resemblance to the feet most of us were
born with. Stufﬁng your feet into an unrealistic contour can make toes curl and cause "pump bumps,"
knotty bone protrusions on the side of the heel. The
repeated friction or pressure of ill-ﬁtting shoes also
can lead to corns (raised hard skin), calluses (diffuse
patches of hardened skin) and bony enlargements
(bunions) on the side of the big toe.
THE FIX: Do your feet hurt badly? Get a foot specialist (a podiatrist, a pedorthist or an orthopedic
physician) to evaluate them. When deformities like
corns and hammertoes become severe, Rajagopalan
says, they typically require surgery to repair. You
can prevent this by wearing shoes that accommodate
a narrower heel and a wide forefoot, or decrease pressure at friction points.

TOES AND NOSE
Each pair of human feet contains about a half-million sweat glands, so if you lace them up all day in a pair
of nonbreathable shoes, they're likely to get sweaty. Sweat causes the bacteria count inside of your shoes
to increase, leading to stinky feet. The solution: Wash and dry your feet thoroughly, every day; wear socks
made of wool or synthetic fibers designed to wick moisture; and rotate your shoes daily. Besides creating an
odor, sweat can also lead to athlete's foot (tinea pedis), a fungus that loves dank places like shoes and locker
room shower stalls. It can make your feet itch like crazy. This problem doesn't go away on its own; treat it
with an antifungal balm or straight tea tree oil.

SU M M E R 2 014

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