High Heel Foot Problems

High Heel Foot Problems

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Dear Yamit,

Thank you for buying my book.

[ I am feeling a little strange with my calf muscles or tendons when i am on flats, but thats it ]

That is normal. It takes a little time for the calf muscle and Achilles tendons to adjust or be stretched back out, when switching to flats. Alternatively, you can stretch them back out yourself immediately before you wear flats.

Also, it would be wise for you to develop a good habit of checking your calf muscles and Achilles tendons by stretching them a few times every day. This is very easy to do and takes less than a minute. Also, it can be done anywhere, anytime and in any position.

It is easiest to do while sitting with both feet flat on the ground. Slowly raise the front parts of your right and left feet as high as you can. This will stretch the muscle and tendons in the back of the legs. Then, relax. Repeat 2 or 3 times.

As long as you can do this, your muscles and tendons should be fine. If the day ever comes when it is very difficult to do, then you may be near (stage 1) temporary shortening.

Temporary shortening is not as serious a condition as permanent shortening. The muscle and tendons just need a little help from you in order to be stretched out.

[ she don't walk with pointed shoes (but i am ) ]

Remove both of your shoes and stretch all of your toes. Then, spread all of your toes as far apart as they can go. Then, relax the feet and look at them. Do the front part of your feet look pointed, just like pointed toe boxes. If they do not, then you should not be wearing pointed toe boxes or at least, limit wearing them to special occasions.

Toe boxes that are too small and narrow for the feet can cause serious problems, besides causing your toes to ache. Beware that the vast majority of foot surgeries is done to fix toes.

Toe boxes that match the shape of the front part of your feet are best. Properly fitted high heel shoes and boots with big enough toe boxes can usually be worn for very long periods of time (several hours or even, a few days) without taking the shoes off and with no pain in the toes.

[ her situation is that she is can't walking on flat's, all the day she wear 12cm heels, and in home she wear 9cm heels as slippers. JJ, Is that possible to happen to her so fast ? how ? ]

Yes, I believe that it is possible.

There is nothing wrong with the heel height. 12cm (4 3/4 inch) and 9 cm (3 9/16 inch) are good heel heights for Yael at 163 cm (5 feet 4 inches).

Basically, it is very difficult for those who wear only high heels to avoid shortened calf muscles and Achilles tendons. The only way for them is to stretch out their calf muscles and Achilles tendons many times everyday. After you read my book, discuss it with Yael and you may understand better.

[ did she do something that Shortened her Calf Muscles faster then usual ? ]

What Yael did not do is probably more important than what she did. She has not stretched her calf muscles and Achilles tendons enough.

Yael should check her calf muscles and Achilles tendons as soon as possible. In her case, this should be done only while sitting down with most of her body weight off of her legs.

As with the stretching exercise, she should try to slowly move her feet back into their natural position. If it is too difficult, she can try to coax or help the muscles and tendons in the back of the lower legs by gently massaging them first. Furthermore, it may be wise for Yael to continue stretching her muscles and tendons several times every day for the rest of her life.

In case Yael reaches a point in which she feels a tendon is beginning to tear (sharp pain), then she should stop. It means that the muscle and tendon are probably permanently shortened to that point. Without surgery, she will probably always need to walk in heels as high as needed to compensate for the degree of shortening.

[ what about me ? we live more or less the same lives... ]

If you stop or limit your use of pointed toe boxes and avoid wearing high heels all of the time, then you will be much better off. Otherwise, I fear that you end up as a patient of a foot doctor.

Of course, I wish the very best for Yael and you.

There is more information in my book. Everything that you will ever need to know about calf muscles and Achilles tendons is contained in my book. If you follow and use all of the information in my book, I honestly believe that it can help you avoid or better deal with most of the problems that are associated with wearing high heels.

Regards,
J.J. - March 17, 2002

Hi JJ,

It's Yamit,

I write you about my friend (Yael), she went to a foot doctor, about the problem that she coulden't wear flat shoes anymore, and he agreed with you that her tendons were shortend...

BUT SHE WEARING THEM NOT MORE THEN ONE YEAR.

how could it happend ?

He offer phisotrapy (i don't think i write it well) for a first solution, and if 2 months phisotrapy won't help, he offered serjury.

JJ, i think you are the most expirence person about high heels. so i have to ask you :
* what exactly are the things that we do in common life that make the tendons shortened, so we can't walk barefoot anymore ?
* I brought your book (like i mention before in the last email) and it's very good and helpfull. but i also want to know what make the proccess of shorting the tendons faster in some girls. ?

She didn't sleep with her shoes, she just walk on the same high heels all day, everyday...

Please help me to help her, and i am also frightend to see me in this situation some months from now.

Tahnks,

Y.K. - 09 Apr 2002

Dear Yamit,

[ ... if 2 months phisotrapy won't help, he offered serjury. ]

Note that after surgery, the feet must be placed in casts and it takes about 6-18 months for full recovery. Also, there are women who accept their ankle equinus or permanent shortening and live with it, just as Yael was doing.

[ JJ, i think you are the most expirence person about high heels. so i have to ask you : ]

I think "the entire community of foot doctors" is much more experienced and knowledgeable about high heels than I am. If not, then they should be as it is their job to be.

However, it is disturbing that they have not shared more information about "ankle equinus" with the public. Even now in 2002, there are not many web sites that mention that high heels can cause ankle equinus. Furthermore, the actual web pages that contain such information are very hard to find.

In regards to such web pages, note that I recently found a copy of a news release that reports on a breakthrough treatment for "ankle equinus". It can help regain some lengthening of shortened calf muscles and Achilles tendons instantly without surgery and is specifically for women who wear high heels . Click here to read about "Manual Manipulation Technique" on a hard-to-find web page at the American Podiatric Medical Association. Please give this information to your friend Yael and her foot doctor.

NOTES:

a) This news was dated September 28, 2000 so that it could not included in my book. My book was published in October 2000 and was already available for sale in mid-September 2000.

b) This "Manual Manipulation Technique" involves realigning bones in the leg (similar to what a chiropractor does) and it reminds me of the massaging that Marcia (in my book) used for "temporary shortening".

c) Manual manipulation does not work in all cases and only to some degree in others. Surgery may still be required even after manual manipulation. So, there is still a degree of real permanency that can occur with shortened calf muscles and Achilles tendons and this usually happens over time (as explained in my book).

[* what exactly are the things that we do in common life that make the tendons shortened, so we can't walk barefoot anymore ?]

I have already mentioned some ways of getting ankle equinus. It can be congenital or acquired by neuromuscular disease.

There are some other causes, like a stroke after-effect, prolonged bed rest and bone abnormalities. The ankle bones can be deformed in such a way that prevent the calf muscles and Achilles tendons from becoming fully extended.

In my opinion, the only other cause involves the overuse of high heels with insufficient stretching of the calf muscles and Achilles tendons. However, some doctors have preposterous theories, like the position we sleep in, how we sit and how we walk.

[* I brought your book (like i mention before in the last email) and it's very good and helpfull. but i also want to know what make the proccess of shorting the tendons faster in some girls. ? ]

As mentioned in my book, there is no specific time frame as to when temporary or permanent shortening occur. All of the important factors that make the process go faster are already mentioned in my book.

The most important factor in prevention is stretching the calf muscles and Achilles tendons as often as possible. So when they are not stretched back out on a regular basis, then shortening happens faster. Also, anything that prevents one from stretching the calf muscles makes shortening happen faster. This includes wearing boots with tight ankles and ankle straps that are put on too tightly, making it impossible to flex the ankles.

(However, note that while high heel boots with tight ankles help cause shortened calf muscles and Achilles tendons, there is nothing better to wear than high heel boots with tight ankles for those who already have permanently shortened muscles and tendons as they support and protect the ankle areas from injury and problems that can be totally devastating to those who want to wear high heels.)

You mentioned that your friend Yael did no sports (or exercises, I assume). That certainly did not help. You also mentioned that Yael wore high heel slippers at night. That did not help.

In regards to women, there are only two occupations or lifestyles that I know of that make women more susceptible to developing permanent shortened calf muscles and Achilles tendons at young ages, like your friend Yael. I mentioned both of these activities on my Fetish Wear web page. They involve street-walking prostitutes and BDSM female submissives, who practice heavy bondage activities.

Most street-walking prostitutes wear their high heels for too many hours and too many days a week. They also stand and walk too much outdoors on very hard concrete and asphalt ground surfaces. Under these extreme conditions, those who do not flex their ankles (or stretch their calf muscles and Achilles tendons) often enough develop shortened muscles and tendons faster.

Bondage activities can vary from light to heavy. Heavy activities can involve severe pain and punishment on the submissives, whether they are female or male. Sometimes, the submissives are left with permanent physical scars. (This is not a joke. There are real men and women who do these things in real life with consent from all of the participants. Also, this is nothing new. John Willie wrote all about female bondage with high heels in 1948 to 1959.)

One of the activities that female submissives can be made to do is wear high heels all or most of the time. Some end up wearing high heels 24/7 (all day & all night, everyday except when they bathe/shower).

High heel shoes can also be locked on these women for days at a time. There are high heel shoes and boots that are made with pad locks and high heel shoe locking devices that are sold for bondage purposes. Also, ultra high heels and ballet boots may be involved.

ballet boots locking boots

Standing in ballet boots press the calf muscles and Achilles tendons into their shortest size, usually making them sore. One of the reasons that ballet boots are made is to inflict punishment on those who wear them. Without sufficient padding, standing in ballet boots can even damage the toes, cause toes to bleed, lead to gangrene and require the toes to be amputated or chopped off.

Furthermore, ballet boots usually have tight ankles, that make it impossible to flex the ankles (and stretch the muscles and tendons). Similarly, high heel shoe locking devices can also make it impossible to flex the ankles.

All of these extreme conditions can cause shortening to happen faster. Of course, if the shoes do not fit right, they also end up with serious foot problems.

[ ... i am also frightend to see me in this situation some months from now. ]

This problem only happens gradually over a long period of time. So, as long as you stretch and check your calf muscles everyday (as I already explained how to), there is absolutely no need be frightened.

You can read how Dr. Elizabeth R. Vaughan (whose web site I link to) has been wearing 4 inch high heels most of the time for over 15 years and has not noticed any shortening in her calf muscles. Of course, she has been doing calf muscle stretching exercises everyday.

Also, you can read on the web page at the American Association of Women Podiatrists, Inc. (2001) (that I link to on my Doctors web page) how Dr. Marlene Reid recommends that "women do some basic leg stretching exercises after wearing heels to avoid excessive tightening of these calf muscles and the Achilles tendon. Wearing high heels on a regular basis over the years can cause these muscles and tendons to permanently contract...".

I totally believe that if you stretch your calf muscles and Achilles tendons several times every day starting at your young age, that you will never experience this problem. Stretching is the only logical explanation as to why some women do not get this problem. It would also explain why ballet dancers, tango dancers and exotic dancers are not affected by this problem.

I hope that the "entire foot doctor community" does a better job informing people about the need to regularly stretch the calf muscles and Achilles tendons if they wear high heels. In case they have any uncertainty about this, they should conduct a research project on it.

Such a project can easily be completed in about two to three years and done in the same scientific manner as any study of this nature. All they have to do is get two volunteers and have one wear high heel boots with tight ankles 24/7, while the other one wears similar boots with loose ankles 24/7 and flexes her ankles periodically throughout the day. (After two years, they will most likely find the first woman with permanent shortening and unable to walk to in flats, while the second woman will still be able to walk in flats.)

Regards,
J.J. - April 14, 2002

Hello J.

At that time I put on my first pair of high heeled shoes which my dad bought me for my new summer-dress. I loved them a lot, and since that day, I`ve been in my heels more or less permanently. After some days I felt pain in my achilles-scene, but I didn`t care, I just wore them all the time. The toes were pushed into the middle of my feet, and I guess since I was only 13 years old, my feet was not grown finished, so I kind of grew into high heels. Now, 22 years later, I`m stuck in my heels for the rest of my life. I can`t flatten my foot anymore. My toes are permanently bent into the middle of the feet, as in all lady`s pumps. But it`s ok, I`v got used to it. And I like the thought that I can wear nothing else than heels. Even in the shower I have to use them.

I really like your site, and i think it's unique on the internet. before visiting it I thought i am the only woman stuck in high heels for all her life.

I read about this woman - connie, but i can't find her story, maybe you can help me because i seriously want to read about her. what she precise did to be permanently high heeled woman ?

And a little question, if you can help me... I need to wear at least 3.5 inch high heels shoes for walking, i can't wear anything lower. i want to be unable to walk without 4.5 inch heels. For the last year i try to do it. i wear only 4 inch and 5 inch heels inside and outside all day, but with no success. i can still walking easly in my 3.5 heels shoes. How can i achieve this degree for permanent ?

If it can help, a little details about me. 5.1 feet tall shoe size - 7.5

byw, I wearing high heels more then 20 years and i love it. i didn't have any back problems or other body problems because it.

I.B. - 13 Mar 2002

Dear Ilse,

[ At that time I put on my first pair of high heeled shoes which my dad bought me for my new summer-dress. I loved them a lot, and since that day, I`ve been in my heels more or less permanently. After some days I felt pain in my achilles-scene, but I didn`t care, I just wore them all the time. The toes were pushed into the middle of my feet, and I guess since I was only 13 years old, my feet was not grown finished, so I kind of grew into high heels. ]

I am well aware of that some parents dress their daughters up in heels. When I was 13 years old and in 9th grade, there was a girl named Marilyn who was in most of my classes. She was always well dressed and wore a brown pair of shoes with thick heels at least 2 inches high (high for her height) in school everyday that entire year - Fall, Winter and Spring.

I knew nothing about high heels back then, but remember looking at her shoes and legs a lot. I often wondered why the heels were so high. She was at least average height in the heels and would not of been the shortest girl around in flats. So, I also wondered why she was wearing them.

Little did I know that some parents helped dress up their daughters with the hope that they would become beauty queens. I think that most of these parents loved and wished the very best for their daughters and had no idea that their daughters might choose to wear heels all or most of the time.

[ Now, 22 years later, I`m stuck in my heels for the rest of my life. I can`t flatten my foot anymore. My toes are permanently bent into the middle of the feet, as in all lady`s pumps. But it`s ok, I`v got used to it. ]

I am well aware that each of the toes (phalanges and metatarsals) bend, while wearing high heels. I also know they can stay bent in women who wear only high heels so that the forefoot or front part of the foot become shaped like "high-heeled ball-of-foot".

I will never forget the first time I touched the foot of one of the women I met with permanently shortened calf muscles and Achilles tendons. When I tried to massage her toes back out, I found them to be hard. The ball of foot, high arch and ankle were all as stiff as wood.

This reminds me that it can be a bad idea for those who had permanently shortened calf muscles and Achilles tendons for a long time, especially decades, to come back down to flats. One of the saddest things that Marcia (in my book) told me was that some women who get surgery to lenghten their calf muscle and/or Achilles tendon end up with all kinds of problems and pain throughout their lower bodies and hobble around for the rest of their lives.

After surgery, the parts of the lower body that were fully adapted to high heels can become weakened, sensitive and prone to problems and pain. This include the bent toes, that must get flattened back out for flat-heeled shoes.

Also, you can read what podiatrist Dr. Jody Politz is quoted as saying in the Las Vegas SUN newspaper (that I link to on my News web pages). She said "I keep a lot of women permanently in heels. It's when they go into flats that they have problems." Although some people may question this method, it is probably the most wise thing to do for those who had permanantly shortened calf muscles and Achilles tendons for a long time (especially, decades). You can also read more about this in my book.

[ I read about this woman - connie, but i can't find her story, maybe you can help me because i seriously want to read about her. what she precise did to be permanently high heeled woman ? ]

Susan (a.k.a Connie) asked Jenny Thompson to delete her story after I questioned some comments that she wrote later on that contradicted her original story and did not fall within boundary of truth. (When it comes to high heels, I know where the truth starts and ends.) Furthermore, Susan never provided a shred of proof about anything she wrote.

However, her original story did fall within the boundary of what I know to be the truth or possible truth. It mentioned something about special training shoes that her husband made for her that may be of interest as well as shocking! If you still want to read her story, you can try to email Jenny Thompson for it.

[ And a little question, if you can help me... I need to wear at least 3.5 inch high heels shoes for walking, i can't wear anything lower. i want to be unable to walk without 4.5 inch heels. For the last year i try to do it. i wear only 4 inch and 5 inch heels inside and outside all day, but with no success. i can still walking easly in my 3.5 heels shoes. How can i achieve this degree for permanent ? If it can help, a little details about me. 5.1 feet tall shoe size - 7.5 ]

It is not all fun to be stuck wearing very high heels. I suggest that you get and read my book before you proceed any further. (If you can not afford a copy, ask your public library to get a copy. Also, tell all of your neighbors to so the same.)

Regards,
J.J. - April 21, 2002

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