A New Policy on High-heeled Shoes :: Medical Medicine Health Essays

A New Policy on High-heeled Shoes Background Throughout history, women have bent over backward to feel and look attractive. Many of the methods used to obtain this goal are dangerous to their health. The high-heeled shoe, one of the most popular types of women’s foot apparel, belongs in this category. The pump puts a tremendous amount of stress on a woman’s knees, back, heels, and toes. To avoid these potential problems, women should be warned about the dangers of wearing high-heeled shoes. Needs Without knowledge of the damage done by high-heeled shoes women are put in danger of permanently harming their bodies. "High heels hurt and can cause significant health problems including bunions, heel pain, toe deformities and painful trapped nerves" (1). Many women experience lower back pain resulting from the extended wear of high-heeled shoes. Women are also more likely to sprain an ankle while wearing heels than while wearing flatter shoes. The constant wearing of a heeled shoe can shorten the Achilles tendon over time, causing the wearer to lose a range of motion in the foot. This can result in causing pain during any exercise, even one so simple as walking(1). Another health concern is the strain on the knee, which can result in osteoarthritis, a chronic degeneration of cartilage in the joints. A two-inch heel is enough to cause an increased amount of strain on the inner side of the knee, possibly setting the stage for the onset of this condition (2). Below are two diagrams sh owing the health dangers of extended high-heel shoe wearing, Figure 1.1 shows the injuries to the foot and Figure 1.2 shows the damages to the rest of the body. Source: www.ama-assn.org/insight/en_hlth/atlas/newatlas/mufront.htm (3) Source: www.ama-assn.org/insight/gen_hlth/atlas/newatlas/foot.htm (4) Many women also have to waste money going through a corrective surgery that otherwise could have been avoided if they had been aware of the damage caused by high-heeled shoes and had been more moderate with the amount of wearing time. "The total estimated cost for this avoidable surgery is $2 billion annually" (1). This wastes time and labor, both of which could have been easily saved by an informational warning about the risk of wearing high-heeled shoes. Idea Since there are so many ill effects resulting from high-heeled shoe usage, women should be informed of them. I propose the best way to do so is to place a warning label on all high-heeled apparel boxes. This label would appear something like the following: