The last stand: Why your shoes could be damaging your toes

PUMPED UP
Wearing high heels can hurt, but vanity and our love of fashion usually win out over discomfort. It’s one thing to go from a taxi to the dinner table sporting to-die-for heels and another to run for the bus on the way to the office. So, what’s the problem with rushing around town in Louboutins? “Stilettos put excessive pressure on the ‘balls’ of your feet,” says Julie Giroux, a pedorthist with the Women’s College Hospital Foot Care Centre in Toronto. “And they often have very narrow, tapered toes, which force your feet into an unhealthy position.” Shoes that are too narrow can lead to a condition called hammertoe, in which the end of your toe is bent downward.

It’s not so much the heels themselves as our abuse of them that leads to problems. “You can’t wear heels for five kilometres and expect to feel comfortable,” says Dr. Suzanne Levine, a podiatric surgeon based in New York, who has made it her mission to keep Manhattan’s elite in their Manolos. At her New York clinic, she offers a treatment called Stiletto Rx: Pillows for Your Feet, a series of polylactic acid injections that plump up the footpads. “As you age, you lose all that natural cushioning,” says Levine. The treatments last anywhere from six to nine months, and patients can “run around immediately” after the procedure. Levine is also developing a shoe called the Stiletto Rx, which will launch this fall. The stiletto is made with silicone cushioning and designed with the style sense of a Jimmy Choo shoe.

'You can’t wear heels for five kilometres and expect to feel comfortable,' says podiatric surgeon Dr. Suzanne Levine

While Giroux says that the ideal heel height is a mere two centimetres or less, practising moderation is key for women with a love for leg-lengthening stilettos. Varying heel heights can help take pressure off the balls of the feet, says Levine. Alternate your pumps with more functional shoes, such as running shoes, and give your feet a break.

FOOTLOOSE
One of the worst things you can do to your feet is wear flip-flops — especially on city streets. Chelin describes these sandals as a “danger waiting to happen” due to their lack of support, protection and
stability. “They’re not meant to be anything more than a beach shoe,” he says. Some of the issues you might encounter if you wear flip-flops all summer long are heel pain (caused by lack of arch support) and ankle, knee and back pain. A study from Auburn University in Alabama found that walking in flip-flops changes our gait, requiring us to overcompensate: We strike the ground with less force and grip shoes with our toes to hold on.