Minimising your Risk with Killer Heels

I'll be the first to admit that the fashionable shoe offerings of each season are not always designed for comfort and practicality.

If you've ever worn heels to work and walked the pavements in your lunchbreak, you won't be a stranger to the tension and headaches you can experience at the end of the day. (I know that many of my chiropractic visits have been a direct result of my not-so-wise footwear choices a day or two before)

So, if you're like me and love the latest fashions, you've probably thought about how you can get away with wearing those strappy platforms while minimizing the negative impact on your body.

But, as Sarah Price and Glynis Traill-Nash point out in their Sun-Herald article Pain, the Achilles heel of this fashion trend, it can be a challenge when faced with the onslaught of rising heels:

SOME say fashion is pain. And with women's high heels hitting dizzying heights, it is something the fashion conscious are going to find out all about.

The craze has already hit Britain, with some heels reportedly as high as 13 centimetres.

And the trend is coming to Australia. Jasmine Bingemann, business manager of footwear and accessories for Myer, said a 10.5-centimetre platform peep-toe was the retailer's best-selling shoe and was a sign of things to come.

As I would never dream of going extreme, I wouldn't suggest total abstinance either, and I'm a firm believer that the very latest heels for the season can update your wardrobe instantly. I recommend coming to something of a compromise!

Here's what I suggest;

• Choose not to wear your heels all day, but rather only for the high points of the day.
• Have a comfy pair of shoes available to change into in order to give you some respite, in-between (for me, this would have to be a pair of Hush Puppies).
• Throughout the day, take time to stretch your feet and calves, and to rotate your ankles.
• Unless you're wearing your heels to work, I wouldn't spend a fortune on them, they're only for a season or two, and for cameo appearances.
  
• Minimise what you're carrying baggage-wise, just take along the bare necessities in a little bag.
• Finally, if (like me) you already have suffered from pain, go see an expert, don't just put up with it.