Wear the right shoes to prevent arthritis

Soreness, fatigue, numbness and arthritis: Those are your rewards for wearing the wrong shoes. But a simple switch in footwear can make all of those problems much less likely.

According to research at Ningbo University, in Zhejiang, China, wearing high heels can not only wreck your feet, they can have long-term negative effects on your health.

The study demonstrated that 90 percent of people who wear high heels suffer bunions as well as excess tiredness, sore legs and a lack of feeling in their extremities when they totter on heels.

High heels shorten your stride and are supposed to make you look more graceful and shape your legs. But all of those benefits produce painful consequences.

The Chinese scientists looked at what happens when you run in high heels. They found that high heeled shoes increase the motion of knee abduction-adduction and hip flexion-extension. That means the shoes harmfully add to the loading forces on your knees.

High heels also decrease your ankle movement and increase the chances of a sprain. And the higher the heels, the greater the risk of injury.

The study also shows that wearing high heels can eventually lead to osteoarthritis in your knees. The fact that the heels cause greater motion in the knee, as well as more pressure, increases the arthritis risk.

To avoid these injuries, you should never wear high heels or only wear them sparingly, on special occasions. And you should never run in high heels. In the Chinese research, running was found to be particularly harmful.

 

 

Staff Writer Wanted

Easy Health Options is seeking a staff writer. But not just any staff writer will do. The perfect candidate will possess a keen grasp of the English language, an understanding of what makes a body healthy, experience with natural health supplements, a devotion to healthy living, a knowledge of what makes for good nutrition, a passion for passing this information to others and an ability to put it into a form that is both compelling and understandable. If you fit the bill, send your resume and some writing samples to blljobs2010@gmail.com.

Carl Lowe

By Carl Lowe

has written about health, fitness and nutrition for a wide range of publications including Prevention Magazine, Self Magazine and Time-Life Books. The author of more than a dozen books, he has been gluten-free since 2007.

«SPONSORED»