10 Tips For Reducing High Heel Pain, from Our Harrisburg Foot Doctor

Spring is almost here, bringing with it plenty of weddings, graduations, and miscellaneous events that call for high heels. As podiatrists specializing in foot and ankle care, our number one high heel tip is “don’t wear them,” but if you’re itching for the glamorous look that only heels can bring, here are some tips to reduce your discomfort.

Practice and Exercise

If you’re not used to walking around in heels—and we’re guessing, since you’re reading this article, you’re not—it’s a good idea to practice wearing them around the house, every day, for a few weeks prior to the event. This will both break in the shoes and strengthen your legs, feet, and ankle muscles. You can also practice some calf strengthening exercises.

Stretch Your Achilles Tendon

Your Achilles tendon joins your calf muscles to your foot’s heel bone. Wearing high heels can cause the calf muscle fibers to shorten, and your Achilles tendon to stiffen and thicken, becoming painful when you transition back to flat shoes. To avoid this and other conditions like Achilles tendonitis, be sure to stretch out the tendon both before and after the event.

Choose Quality Over Appearance

When purchasing high heels, try to prioritize comfort over style. If the shoes don’t conform to your arches, toes, and ankles, then they don’t fit, and will only cause you pain as the night goes on. No matter how adorable a pair of shoes look, or how low the price is, they will be a waste of money if they end up in your hand while you walk home. Therefore, try to choose a shoe with a lower height, wider heels, and thick soles. Otherwise, you risk suffering a foot or ankle injury, like plantar fasciitis.

Address Problems Early

High heels can cause a number of foot and ankle problems, like bunions, corns, calluses, and hammertoes. If you experience an unusual amount of pain after wearing your heels for a while, be sure to visit a podiatrist so you can catch and treat any problems early on.

Need a Harrisburg Foot Doctor in NC? Visit Ryan Foot and Ankle Clinic

Ryan Foot and Ankle clinic is a professional Harrisburg foot doctor specializing in foot and ankle pain. If you’re looking for a Harrisburg NC podiatrist, please don’t hesitate to give us a call to set up an appointment.