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FOUR-INCH heels do many things; They change the way women walk, give the illusion of height and slim down the sturdiest of ankles. But as most heel wearers will testify they also slow you down, give you back pain and produce an intense burning in the balls of the feet.

So the vertiginous footwear I wore for my meeting with Dr Caroline McIntosh, head of the first school of podiatry in the State, acted as a timely reminder of how the health of our feet can impact on mobility and by extension our quality of life.