There can be an absolute correlation between your high heels and developing structural abnormalities in your spine.
The recent research from the Institute of medicine (IOM) shows that more than 116 million Americans are suffering with chronic pain. That basically says that 1 out of 3 in our community are suffering and has been suffering for awhile. With this sad and alarming statistic it is a must to look for and avoid situations that will have a negative affect on your spine. A spine that is STRUCTURALLY within the NORMAL limit is, straight from front and has three curves from the side. The curves are in the neck, mid back and the low back. The normal curve in the neck also causes a person’s head to be positioned over their shoulders. The head positioning can be observed from the side as the a person’s ear and top of the shoulder should be aligned.
The normal alignment of the spine develops as the baby starts to grow inside the mother. The research shows that a newborn baby should have the proper spinal positioning from birth. The proper structure of the spine is as important as the foundation under the house, the alignment of your car, etc….if these structures are not in the proper position than those objects will start deteriorating and get permanently damaged. If the foundation of your house is not properly aligned than the doors will not close properly, the windows do not work properly, the roof develops cracks…If your car is not properly aligned than the tires and the parts wear down. The same is happening with an person that has structural abnormalities in their spine. Some of the major secondary conditions cause by a properly that is not aligned spine include degenerative arthritis, pains, pinched nerves, muscle spasms…
So how do these misalignments take place? The simplest answer is because of STRESS.
Stress can be categorized into three different categories. Physical, Chemical and Emotional stress. In this article we will focus on physical stress as it pertains to wearing high heels. High-heels give a women a taller and more slender appearance, and make women’s legs look thinner and more shapely. However, we should be aware that elevated heels will cause your lower back to accentuate its curve. Although there is a normal curvature in the lower back, the heels are increasing the amount of curve beyond the normal limits. This will predispose the person to stress on their joints and misalignments leading to chronic pain overtime. High-heels can be especially aggravating and harmful if you already have a misaligned spine. This increased curvature in the lower back, commonly referred to as hyper-lordosis, will narrow the opening between the vertebrae where the nerve root exits thus causing compression of the nerve roots within that opening (neuro-foraminal compression). It may also cause enough additional disc stress to result in further disc bulging (herniated disc) and subsequent sciatica (pain down the leg) due to nerve root compression.
If a structural abnormality is already present from pervious stress or traumas, than the hyper-lordosis that is made worse from high-heels will have multiple affects. Some of these are:
Facet glide with probable facet syndrome, Nerve root compression within the neuro-foramen (pinched nerves), Further disc stress and degeneration, Possible increase in disc herniation or bulging, Contribute to or aggravate sciatica, Contribute to or aggravate piriformis syndrome.
It is risky to wear high-heels and even down-right destructive if you already have structural abnormalities. This is more probable especially if you wear high-heels on a frequent basis.
HOW DO I KNOW IF THERE IS A PROBLEM
If your not sure high heels cause back pain in your case, the sound advice to follow would be to listen to the voice within. NO PAIN;NO GAIN does not apply to wearing heels.
If pain is increased with high heel use or you feel more back pain the next day or so after their use, then it would be prudent to avoid wearing high-heeled shoes. If your lower back pain seems aggravated by the use of high-heels a negative heel shoe, or what is known as an earth shoe, may be beneficial and should be tried as a possible remedy.
Using negative heeled shoes alone will probably not cure your lower back condition but it could go a long way in helping you manage it. Along with other action steps most importantly to be checked and analyzed by a Structural Chiropractor, this could very well be an important treatment ingredient.
Whether, your high-heels and low back pain go together or not, high-heels do and will put your lower back in an abnormal posture and alignment. This will aggravate an existing lower back pain problem.
If you don’t already have a lower back pain condition the chance are great that regular use of high heels will sooner or later cause or contribute to the development of one.
You need to decide for yourself if wearing high-heels is worth it
PLANET CHIROPRACTIC 