Head over heels

FASHION: We were designed with flat feet so what are the effects of wearing high heels? ROSEMARY Mac CABEseeks advice from a podiatrist and catwalk models

‘I HATE THE CONCEPT of comfort!” Thus spoke Christian Louboutin in an interview with the New Yorker, when asked how he felt about designing six-inch shoes for women who can barely walk – never mind dance – in them.

“Comfy, that’s one of the worst words,” he said. “I just picture a woman feeling bad, with a big bottle of alcohol, really puffy. It’s really depressing, but she likes her life because she has comfortable clogs.”

It’s not the most attractive image – and not one to encourage the Crocs-wearers among us – but there are serious questions around heels and what they will do to your feet. Can a woman be expected to wear vertiginous heels for the majority of her working life and not feel any detrimental effects?

According to podiatrist Joe Kelly, there is no short answer. “High heels are seen as causing foot problems, but some problems are inherited, so even people who wear the most sensible shoes can develop things like bunions,” he says.

But wearing high heels, he concedes, doesn’t help. “When it comes to things like bunions, bony lumps on the joints of a big or even a little toe, heeled shoes are thought to be a contributing factor,” he says. “Your centre of gravity is pushed forward and the weight, instead of being directed down through the heel, is directed down through your forefoot and all of your metatarsal bones are overloaded. Over time, that can lead to osteoarthritis in the lesser toes, for example.”

Sarah McGovern has been modelling in Ireland for 13 years. Having recently given birth to a son, Jude, she admits that she’s not in heels as much as she used to be – “I like my comforts now” – but says that, “pre-baby, I would’ve always worn heels going to work and during work”.

Has she suffered as a result of the shoes she wears as part of her work? “In certain fashion shows you might have to squeeze your feet into the tiniest of shoes. You’d be walking down the catwalk, or doing a press call, with your feet in agony. As I’m getting older, I worry a bit about bunions and things like that, but I hope I’ve gotten away with it. I don’t really worry too much.”

Pippa O’Connor is another model whose career dictates the height of her heel. “I wear heels at some stage every day, but I’m really used to it,” she says. O’Connor is aware that, through her work, she is putting her feet through an ordeal of sorts, and so she tries to look after them on days off. “I go for a pedicure every now and then, but I got a home kit and I’ve been doing that. I try to look after them,” she says.

Burlesque performer Harlot DeVille has seen the darker side of wearing heels. “I was diagnosed with hammer toes,” she says. “It was thought I was going to have surgery on my feet, because I was wearing heels constantly and dancing in heels. I had bunions, too, and all of those nasty things.”

In the past, DeVille says, she would have worn heels constantly, unless she was at home, now she wears them “maybe 20 hours a week”.

She would caution people – regardless of what Louboutin might say – to be practical in their shoe choices. “I know myself, I used to buy a ludicrous number of shoes, and if something was on sale I’d get it, even if it was half a size off. I would definitely recommend buying shoes that are comfortable, that fit you well and that you know you’re going to wear.”

O’Connor is, overall, positive about the effects her heel-wearing have had on her body. “I don’t get any pain in my legs or anything, but I definitely think that wearing heels has toned my legs,” she says. “It’s hardened my calf muscles, definitely.”

According to Kelly, the calf is the muscle that bears the brunt of the pain caused by heels – and the effects can take a few years to manifest. “The calf operates as a pump for your circulation,” he says. “So, as you walk in a flat shoe, the veins in your legs shunt blood around. If you walk on your toes [in heels], basically you don’t use the calf muscle as a pump and that can cause varicose veins and hypertension.”

Short of giving up heels for good – which would simply never do – what changes can be made to protect legs and feet?

“I wouldn’t be one to say, ‘stop wearing heels’,” says Kelly. “I would say, wear them in moderation. Alter your heel heights from day to day so that you take the strain off a particular muscle that was under pressure from yesterday.”

And of course, the dangers of wearing heels can be far more basic and immediate than the future threats of varicose veins and bunions: “A high percentage of women report near misses on steps, stairs, escalators and in the cracks on footpaths,” says Kelly.

“Maybe go for a wider heel, rather than a spindly stiletto. Then, massage your feet at night: give them a bit of a rub and a soak, or have your partner massage your calves.”

Now that’s the kind of medical advice we can get on board with.