It's the season to put up Christmas lights, find that perfect dress - and finish off the look by donning those sexy 10cm heels. Or should you?
Some think of heels as a modern version of Cinderella's glass slippers.
They give the wearer instant height and maybe even confidence. Others simply think high heels add elegance to any outfit.
Slip into those stilettoes if you must this Christmas. But remember this: Occasionally is all right. But all the time - on a daily basis for work, for shopping and clubbing - can be detrimental to your well-being. It could even contribute to a painful ailment that could be hard to shake off.
A 1998 United States study by a team of Harvard researchers found a link between high heels and knee osteoarthritis, a painful, degenerative joint disease characterised by the breakdown of cartilage surrounding the knee.
The study found that walking on 5cm heels increases strain on the parts of the knee that are most vulnerable to osteoarthritis by 23 per cent compared with walking barefoot.
Podiatrists Mind Your Body spoke to also warned of other health hazards like back problems, sprained ankles, tendinitis, hammer toes, corns and calluses.
"In the worst case scenario, women may get fractures on the balls of their feet," says Tan Tock Seng Hospital senior podiatrist Kin Ismail.
Women who wear their stilettoes religiously can attest to the fact that sometimes their feet can hurt so unbearably that it is difficult to even stand.
This is because they are constantly in an unnatural position while wearing these heels. Not only do the feet start to hurt, but extra pressure is also placed on the neck and the back, which can cause problems with posture.
High heels are not made for comfort or ease of walking. Those who have been wearing high heels for years will notice that their Achilles tendon - a band of connective tissue that anchors muscle to bone - gets shorter, even becoming too short for flat shoes, says Ms Kin.
The Achilles tendon attaches the calf muscle to the heel bone and is very important because it lets one lift the heel when walking, running or standing on tiptoe. When calf muscles shorten and tighten, the body compensates for this by lowering the arch of the foot, which affects the knee, hip or back.
Too high heels also affect your balance and you could easily twist an ankle - or even break it - when you lose your footing and fall.
According to Mr Brian Tracey (above), a podiatric sports medicine specialist, many women also wear the wrong-sized shoes.
For enclosed shoes, a 20mm or one finger width clearance should be given from the longest toe to the tip of the shoe, he says.
"Asians have much broader feet than most Caucasians, so it's important to have the proper width." Although some footwear shops use a Brannock device to measure the width and length of feet, most shoe manufacturers do not produce shoes of differing width.
One way to combat this problem is to place your feet on a piece of paper, draw the outline, cut it out and bring it to the shop, says Ms Kin.
"For most women, their feet are actually broader than the shoes, so if the paper creases up at the sides, you know the width is not correct," she says. And wedge platforms aren't a less harmful version of heels compared with the killer stilettoes, as you might think.
"You are thrown slightly forward and the weight shifts to the balls of your feet if you wear any heels above 2.5cm," said Ms Kin.
She advises using heels with a strap to keep feet from slipping.
With people becoming increasingly health conscious, specialised footwear stores have now been springing up with promises of better cared-for feet.
One of them is Arch Angel in Delfi Orchard, Orchard Road, which opened this year.
It offers a wide range of comfort shoes and accessories. One of its owners has trained her staff to advise customers on what type of shoes they should be wearing.
There are also shoe specialists like Mr Tracey, who custom makes orthotic shoes for his customers. Foot massages and acupressure might relieve pain and stress. But these are just short-term therapies.
Avoiding heels altogether is the best option, say podiatrists.
So before you start singing "These boots are made for walking", take a second look at the heels and see if they really are.
------
High-heel lover now unable to wear flats
Mrs Pearlyn Wang has been in love with high heels for 30 years. Boots or stilettoes - she wore them all.
But three years ago, her orthopaedic doctor delivered some bad news. Her calf muscles had contracted so much from wearing heels so often that she was no longer able to wear flat shoes.
"I'd get pain within a minute of wearing flat shoes," says the vice-president of a finance department.
She used to wear shoes with heel heights ranging from 4cm to 6.5cm five days a week to work. But when she put on low heels during a vacation, she found it too painful to walk and decided to visit an orthopaedic specialist.
Walking barefoot around her house is not a problem, but once she slips into sports shoes or flat shoes, pain starts to shoot up her heels.
Mrs Wang, who is in her early 50s, now does exercises daily to stretch her calf muscles. She also wears cushioned medicated soles with her heels every day.
She has also reduced the heel height to a maximum of 5cm to protect herself against falls, she says.
But Mrs Wong still remains nonchalant about her predicament.
"I continue to wear heels and I'm fine with it. I read Hilary Clinton's biography and discovered that she had the same problem!" she exclaims almost proudly.
This story first appeared in The Straits Times' Mind Your Body supplement on Dec 19, 2007.
