Nine Reasons Why You Should Wear Open Toe Walking Shoes Instead of High Heels

Almost all of the most famous and fashionable women wear high heels from time to time. Some celebrities such as Mariah Carey appear to wear nothing but high heel shoes. Although heels are attractive and flattering, they can feel quite uncomfortable. In fact, regularly wearing high heels impacts your health in a variety of different ways:

Back and Spine Damage

When you wear high heels, your feet are not fully supported and your weight is distributed unevenly, causing you to arch your lower back. Your lower back will feel sore and inflamed.

Ankle Sprains

Nothing is quite as painful as rolling your ankle in a pair of high heels. Walking on uneven surfaces such as cobblestones can result in sprained ankles. The higher the heel, the more likely you are to suffer a tumble, which could even result in broken bones.

Bunions

One of the most unsightly and painful foot problems associated with heels are bunions, which are bony protrusions on the inside of the big toe. What makes bunions so painful in heels? Your big toe joint is improperly aligned because the shoes apply pressure to your bunion bone, directly irritating your feet. Over time, your bunions could grow so badly that you need surgery to correct them.

Hammer Toes

First of all, the name alone is scary. This condition refers to bent, crooked toes that form when the joints pop out of alignment while wearing shoes. Oftentimes, hammer toes result in calluses as well. When hammer toes are really bad, your feet will have sores, pain and swelling.

Metatarsalgia

When walking in heels, you apply extra pressure to the balls of your feet, which could result in inflammation of the metatarsal bones. If you suffer from metatarsalgia for years, you could permanently damage your feet, so it’s important to treat this condition. Symptoms include calluses on the bottom of the feet in addition to bunions and hammertoes.

The Pump Bump

Regularly wearing high heels could result in the development of a more prominent heel bone, which is referred to as “the pump bump.”

Bunionettes

Your heels could also result in the development of small bunions on the outside of your feet by the fifth toes, called bunionette or Tailor’s bunions. Pointy-toed shoes most commonly cause this problem as your toes are squeezed together into a tight shoe.

Muscle Pain

Did you know that wearing high heels over time can shorten your back and calf muscles? If you experience leg cramps after wearing high heels, switch to footwear with shorter heels. When your muscles shorten, you could experience muscle pain and even muscle spasms.

Ingrown Toenails

One of the biggest causes of ingrown toenails are high heels. Because heels squeeze the toes together, they cause big toe nails to grow into the skin and could result in fungal infections.

Sure, high heels are pretty, but wearing them on a consistent basis could cause serious harm to your body. Why not slip on a pair of our open toe walking shoes instead? Super lightweight, this footwear provides both comfort and support throughout the day. Shop our selection of open toe athletic shoes today at OpeToz.