Contents
High voltage: why heels are bad for women’s health
How often do you choose high-heeled shoes? Agree, this is beautiful: the leg seems longer and slimmer, the gait acquires a charming seductiveness, and the whole image is feminine, graceful and elegant.
Well, beauty requires sacrifice. Only do you know exactly what sacrifices it costs? Dr. Anastasia Shagarova, who faces female hormonal (and not only) problems every day, told why women’s health can swing on a high stiletto heel.
Loins and internal organs
Putting on heels, a woman becomes like a trickster walking on a tightrope. She is forced to constantly maintain balance and catch balance. Since the center of gravity is shifted forward, the lower back involuntarily flexes. Moreover, it bends unnaturally strongly.
Such deflections in medicine are called lordosis. Constant curvature of the back threatens not only with lower back pain. Following the spine, the internal organs in the pelvic region also change their natural healthy position. The displacement provokes clamps, disruption of the functioning of organs and their blood supply.
The external manifestation of the problem is the so-called “dropped belly”, which does not disappear either after a strict diet or after an hour of abdominal workouts.
But the internal consequences are even sadder. The pelvic organs, deprived of a normal blood supply, compressed and displaced, begin to become inflamed.
Now let’s remember what organs, so important for women, are located in the pelvic region? That’s right – the ovaries are the main source of the female hormone estrogen. Unfortunately, such problems with the reproductive system even threaten infertility.
Flat feet and everything connected with it
A high heel suggests that the woman is walking on tiptoes. In this position, the heel is practically inactive, but the load on the forefoot increases by 75%. An uneven load on the foot leads to a weakening of some muscles and an excessive load on others.
Weak muscles of the foot are inevitable flat feet. Dr. Shagarova noted that according to official statistics, as well as according to her personal observations from practice, women are 10 times more likely to suffer from flat feet than men. This is due, among other things, to the love of hairpins.
Do not consider flat feet as just an unpleasant misunderstanding. This, at first glance, a harmless disease leads to very serious consequences.
the ligaments of the feet originate from the pelvic muscles. Since our body is an integral system, when one of the links in the chain rusts, the whole chain collapses. The same thing happens with the pelvic muscles, which quickly weaken with flat feet. The result has already been described above – inflammation of the pelvic organs, ovarian dysfunction, displacement of internal organs.
a healthy foot directly affects the neck. A flat foot cannot be a shock absorber (this is the role nature intended for it). The entire shock load when walking hits the spine, and especially the cervical and thoracic regions. The cervical vertebrae are compressed, pinching the blood vessels and nerves that go to the brain. The brain is deficient in nutrition, works in a sparing mode. Recall that the pituitary gland (one of the brain regions) is responsible for the production of hormones. The further relationship is obvious.
In no case should flat feet be ignored. In addition to the listed problems with the hormonal background, it carries with it problems with all internal organs. Dr. Shagarova notes that, fortunately, there are techniques that allow you to work with correcting feet at any stage of the disease and at any age.
What to do?
Certainly not to move into cozy slippers. Soft, flat shoes are almost more dangerous to the body than high heels. The heel should be firm and medium in height. To be more precise: 3-4 cm. One of the latest shoe trends came in very handy for a small low heel of various shapes from a “glass” to a tapered and beveled one.
If you have to wear a high stiletto heel, try not to wear it for more than 4 hours. Immediately after the publication, Dr. Shagarova advises to do self-massage. Using the knuckles of your fist, rub your legs in a circular motion from the tips of the toes to the heel, from the lower leg to the knee and from the knee to the groin. The legs should be raised higher, for example, on the back of a chair or sofa – this stimulates the flow of lymph and relaxes the muscles.
For the prevention of flat feet, strengthening the arch of the foot, two simple exercises with hard spiky balls with a diameter of 7-9 cm will help.
While standing, it is necessary to press the ball with effort, moving gradually from the tips of the toes to the heel. It is very important that the pressure is strong, as if you are trying to “hit” the ball to the floor.
While standing, perform grasping movements with your toes, trying to squeeze the ball. Likewise, pay special attention to effort.
Exercises are performed for 20 minutes with alternating legs.
Before performing, be sure to steam your feet well by adding 1 tablespoon of salt and soda to hot water (the level of the solution in the basin is ankle-deep).
If flat feet, curvature of the spine and other problems have already arisen, do not despair. The main thing is to find a competent doctor and not start the course of the disease.