The average woman gets foot pain after a mere hour in pumps. But high heels impact your body beyond just making you want to sit down. The higher the heel, the bigger the impact and one study has found that four inch stilettos can up the amount of pressure on the front of the foot by 30% or more. Wearing heels forces your ankles to bend forward, a movement that could resist circulation in your lower limbs.


If you are a perennial high heel wearer, this could eventually spell spider veins. Walking in heels also stiffens your Achilles tendons, which anchor your calf muscles to your heels, causing your calves to bunch up. If you have had your tall pumps on all day, you might have trouble walking naturally when your first kick off your kicks. You can work to offset this stiffness by flexing your feet shoe less for several times throughout the day.


To keep from keeling over in stacked shoes, you have to thrust your hips forward, arch your back and push out your chest. That familiar sexy stance works the outer hip muscles and tendons hard. As with your other body parts, your back needs a break.

If you wear high pumps one day, don cushioned flats the next. Or save your spikes for special nights out and never walk around in them for longer than a few hours at a time.


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