high heels suck

[Lozen]

Short version of the story: I had to wear heels for 11 hrs on Cinco de Mayo. My feet hurt. The next day I couldn't squat heavy. This made me angry, culminating in a bunch of research resulting in an article. Superstar Eric Cressey let me quote him extensively, I found a pretty diagram and someone sent me a bunch of articles which I synthesized research/main points from. The fruits of our labor are posted here: http://www.dirttime.org/2007/06/04/you-can...-in-these-girl/

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[mYTHmAKER]

Excellent article

[Lozen]

Thanks!!

[gendao]

Interestingly, athletes wear similar training shoes for the same ultimate effect of overloading the calves...in order to increase quickness and vertical leap.

So, might better hops be one hidden benefit of high heels?

[Lozen]

So, might better hops be one hidden benefit of high heels?

 

You should try it and get back to us!

 

[Bob H]

The same problem affects men, too. I have low back problems from an old injury, and wearing any shoe/boot with more than a tiny heel aggravates it immensely. I have a pair of Doc Martin's (the lightweight 1461, not the huge heavy ones) and when I first put them on they feel wonderful. The footbead is soft, good toe room, nice "give" to the soles and heels. After wearing them an hour I'm in misery. I save them for when I really need traction (cutting weeds on the creekbank behind the house) and take them off as soon as possible.

 

Noticing that, I bought some of the new Earthshoes, I wore out two pair in the old days and loved them. They helped, but I started getting hip pain if I wore them too long. I've noticed that they are a lot stiffer and more rigidly constructed than the originals, maybe that's the problem.

 

It seems that the solution for me is dead-level shoes - no positive heel, no negative heel. Barefoot equivalent, not the "your heels would be sinking deeper than your toes so we made Earth Shoes" equivalent. Sure wish I could find shoes made that way that weren't flip-flops.

[Lozen]

I asked a chiropractor about Earth Shoes and he said that it would cause plantar fascitis and other injuries and that we are not meant to walk on our heels.

 

Try Nike Frees. Best shoes on the market IMO.

 

Though there are these super expensive Massai shoes I haven't tried yet....

[mYTHmAKER]

The same problem affects men, too. I have low back problems from an old injury, and wearing any shoe/boot with more than a tiny heel aggravates it immensely. I have a pair of Doc Martin's (the lightweight 1461, not the huge heavy ones) and when I first put them on they feel wonderful. The footbead is soft, good toe room, nice "give" to the soles and heels. After wearing them an hour I'm in misery. I save them for when I really need traction (cutting weeds on the creekbank behind the house) and take them off as soon as possible.

 

Noticing that, I bought some of the new Earthshoes, I wore out two pair in the old days and loved them. They helped, but I started getting hip pain if I wore them too long. I've noticed that they are a lot stiffer and more rigidly constructed than the originals, maybe that's the problem.

 

It seems that the solution for me is dead-level shoes - no positive heel, no negative heel. Barefoot equivalent, not the "your heels would be sinking deeper than your toes so we made Earth Shoes" equivalent. Sure wish I could find shoes made that way that weren't flip-flops.

 

Birkenstocks work for me. I also like Macbeth sneakers

[Todd]

The Terra Plana Vivo-Barefoot line is another option. I've been wearing them for about a year and I'm just about getting used to them. My feet are healthier than when I started wearing them. They have very thin soles, though, so they definitely take some getting used to. Its a lot like walking barefoot, though you don't have to worry about scrapes or punctures.

[Lozen]

Its a lot like walking barefoot, though you don't have to worry about scrapes or punctures.

 

That's how I feel with these Frees.