Ghanaian women wise up to the dangers of wearing high heeled shoes.

This very important article is being written as a response to the seemingly alarming and quite silly trend of many Ghanaian women wearing high-heeled shoes.

Because of mis-education and mis-information of the highest order, many Ghanaian women believe that if they wear high-heeled shoes they will become more attractive, sexier, more cultured and more sophisticated. The REALITY couldn't be farther from the TRUTH!!

These days at social functions including church, as every day wear especially in the corporate world, Ghanaian ladies can be seen wearing these ridiculous shoes.

However, unknown to many Ghanaian women, the constant wearing of these shoes presents some very serious health risks that THEY SHOULD BE AWARE OF.

The purpose of this article is to re-educate Ghanaian women in general on the dangers and consequences of wearing these high-heels.

The chart “Women's Shoes and Knees Osteoarthritis” is an excellent resource for a visual depiction on the negative effects of wearing high heels can be experienced in particular sections of the feet, legs and back.

Women's shoes and knees Osteoarthritis


The Feet: Wearing heels is an art and women deserve medals for learning to walk in them (let alone run!). When a woman is walking in heels, she is basically walking on the balls of her feet. The ball of the foot will experience intense pressure and this pressure more than doubles with every inch in height of shoe heel. Ankle injuries are always a threat and the degree of injuries can extend from sprains to fractures. Calluses, corns and bunions can be formed on feet due to high heels, especially if the shoes are tight, tough or walked in for long periods.

Metatarsalgia is a condition affecting the ball of the foot, where all the weight is concentrated on when a woman is in heels. Hammertoes is a condition where the toes are maintained downward curled position because of the continual confinement of the feet in the high heels. The muscles of the feet become tight and are unable to stretch and straighten when out of the shoes.

A pump bump can be recognized on the heel where the straps of high heels are wrapped around. The straps cause intense friction on the heel causing that nuisance of a bump to form. Women may complain of numbness, sharp pain and burning in the toes and ball of the foot when wearing high heeled shoes – all of which are symptoms of Morton's Neuroma. Morton's Neuroma is the inflammation of the tissue surrounding the nerve between the 3rd and 4th toe.

The Knees:
High heels cause much more pressure to be exerted on the knees. The force that causes such pressure is more than what the knees are designed for, and can give rise to a condition called osteoarthritis.

Posture:
Consider that when you tip you cause all your weight to be projected towards the ball of your feet. You will involuntarily adjust your posture to compensate for a shift in your center of gravity. This is a similar occurrence to wearing high heels, and it will be worse because the feet will be in a fixed position. A woman will have to bend her spine in the lower back more to keep her balance. Women may wonder where certain back, shoulder and neck pain may come from. Well, high heels are a prime cause of such pain in the torso.

The Lower Legs:
The calves will tend to retain the contracted and shortened state due to the feet being in high heels. The calf muscles may become difficult or virtually impossible to straighten without medical intervention. A similar condition can occur with the Achilles' tendon where it too can retain its shortened state even when a woman is not wearing heels.

Ghanaian women must not let vanity and their pursuit of so-called western fashion ruin their health as the adage goes “your health is your wealth” and you will doing yourself a great favour if you STOP wearing them