Saturday, August 15, 2009

Beautiful Shoes and Tendonitis

How to avoid tendonitis wearing heels all the time

Ladies, if you are like me you spend at least some part of your day wearing high heels you know that it can take a toll on your legs and feet. For some of us this length of time could be up to 8 hours a day. Not to mention, (especially if you are in the city) you are walking a few of those hours in them every day as well.

With the new trend of super tall heels (many of mine are at least 4 inches tall), we have to be careful that we minimize the damage these trendy shoes do to our body.
High-heels can dramatically effect your achilles tendon. Your achilles tendon is the tendon that connects your calf muscle to your heel bone (if any of you have ever pulled this you know that it is extremely painful).

Wearing high heels does wonders for your calf muscles, as it shortens the muscle creating a nice look. This action pulls the achilles tendon, which pulls your heel up into that beautiful shoe. This shortening of the tendon can eventually cause you problems. It may tighten up causing you to feel pain or "tightness" in the back of your heel/below your calf. You may especially notice it when you switch from wearing high heels to gym shoes.

To keep your achilles healthy and avoid tendonitis here are some tips:

1) STRETCH
1) Find a stair case (while holding on to a railing) place the ball of your foot at the edge of the stair so your heel is hanging off the edge. Slowly drop your heel until you feel a nice stretch in the back of your foot/calf.

2) Face a wall and place your hands against it as if you were going to do a push up against it. Place one foot flat on the ground about a foot behind your other one. Bend both your knees and lean into the wall by bending your arms. You should feel a stretch in your back foot.

2) ICE
1) If you are having consistent pain in your achilles ice it. Especially after any strenuous activity. Ice the back of your ankle(between your calf and heel) for about 15 minutes. After removing the ice grab a towel. Sit with your legs straight out in front of you. Grab the towel and wrap it around the ball of your foot holding the two ends with your hands. Slowly pull on the towel until you feel a small stretch in the back of your heel.

3) SWITCH UP YOUR SHOES
1) Switch up your shoes. Take a break from those heels and wear your gym shoes every once in a while.

Now get out there and enjoy those beautiful shoes or those comfy gym shoes.

Have a fun and fit day, Chicago.

Ladies let me know what stress you put on your body to look great?


My Comments:

Yes! I am like the author. I love beautiful shoes - to the point of hurting my legs and my feet. After a day of walking in those beautiful shoes, you come home and find that you cannot even walk. YOu kick off those beautiful shoes and you ask yourself are the beautiful shoes worth all these pain?

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