Tips/Tricks to avoid pain from wearing your fav. High heels
- Thread starter Geminiz06
- Start date
I usually have to add inserts. Seriously try 'insolia'. It takes a few minutes to fit them correctly & left/right are usually different, but it shifts some of the weight back toward the heel & seems to reduce pronation (side to side) shift for me. They are a clear gel/rubber, so aren't too visible on sandals and d'orsays.
I find them at our Fred Meyer (Kroger grocery supermarket) for about $6-7 pair.
I find them at our Fred Meyer (Kroger grocery supermarket) for about $6-7 pair.
I've tried the insolias, but did not notice a difference. Perhaps I inserted them incorrectly, although I followed the directions.
But I often size up a tiny bit (finding a shoe where they run just a pinch small so the 1/2 size up isn't quite a full 1/2 size is ideal) and then add gel toe pads and a heel pad. The pads make the shoes the right size, reduce shock at the toe and keep the heel from rubbing or slipping.
I've been working on wearing higher heels more lately, and this has actually made some 4" heels comfortable for the better part of a day.
But I often size up a tiny bit (finding a shoe where they run just a pinch small so the 1/2 size up isn't quite a full 1/2 size is ideal) and then add gel toe pads and a heel pad. The pads make the shoes the right size, reduce shock at the toe and keep the heel from rubbing or slipping.
I've been working on wearing higher heels more lately, and this has actually made some 4" heels comfortable for the better part of a day.
Ok, here goes:
1) Wear high quality shoes! Those plastic heels from target will never break in, they will never be comfortable, and they will probably break. Good heels usually cost $200-$500 in my experience. But if you want to be comfortable, that's what it costs.
2) Pedicures, pedicures, pedicures. I'm not talking about painting your nails, I'm talking about removing callouses and keeping your feet moisturized. If you have callouses, it may cause the shoes to fit funny and hurt from being worn.
3) Break in new heels slowly. Wear them for a few hours to a movie, then wait a few days and consider wearing them on short errands. Don't go to a party for 6 hours in them until you've worn them several times to break them in.
4) During the break in period, take note of where the pressure on your foot ends up. If your arches hurt, you should put arch inserts in. If your toes keep touching the front and your heels slip out, but the shoes fit when seated, then you need traction under the ball of your foot to keep it from slipping forward and maybe some heel backs to keep the shoes from slipping out the back when you walk. If you slip or fall in your shoes and they have leather bottoms, you may need to have your cobbler affix a rubber sole with more traction to the bottom of your shoe. BTW, I also recommend the foot petals products.
5) If you don't wear heels regularly, start with 3 inchers. Don't jump right into 5 inch heels! Wearing heels builds certain muscles in your legs and you really need to have some ability to wear regular heels before you wear high heels.
That's my advice!
1) Wear high quality shoes! Those plastic heels from target will never break in, they will never be comfortable, and they will probably break. Good heels usually cost $200-$500 in my experience. But if you want to be comfortable, that's what it costs.
2) Pedicures, pedicures, pedicures. I'm not talking about painting your nails, I'm talking about removing callouses and keeping your feet moisturized. If you have callouses, it may cause the shoes to fit funny and hurt from being worn.
3) Break in new heels slowly. Wear them for a few hours to a movie, then wait a few days and consider wearing them on short errands. Don't go to a party for 6 hours in them until you've worn them several times to break them in.
4) During the break in period, take note of where the pressure on your foot ends up. If your arches hurt, you should put arch inserts in. If your toes keep touching the front and your heels slip out, but the shoes fit when seated, then you need traction under the ball of your foot to keep it from slipping forward and maybe some heel backs to keep the shoes from slipping out the back when you walk. If you slip or fall in your shoes and they have leather bottoms, you may need to have your cobbler affix a rubber sole with more traction to the bottom of your shoe. BTW, I also recommend the foot petals products.
5) If you don't wear heels regularly, start with 3 inchers. Don't jump right into 5 inch heels! Wearing heels builds certain muscles in your legs and you really need to have some ability to wear regular heels before you wear high heels.
That's my advice!
great tips! especially #5! I guess I won't be buying those folded crepe CL's I've been eyeing for my B-day!
great tips! especially #5! I guess I won't be buying those folded crepe CL's I've been eyeing for my B-day!
Yeah lol. CL has some good low heels too though.
This video pretty much sums up the problems with heels: http://shoetube.tv/Your-Shoe-Videos/Show-Us-Your-Shoes/The-physics-of-high-heels
The higher the heel, the harder to wear!
Here's an article on the research regarding the optimal height for a heel:
http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200407/zero-gravity.cfm
(According to the formula, you may be able to tolerate the pain of those CLs due to their stylishness lol)
I think there will never be pain-free ways of wearing heels. To be pain free, wear flats. The methods we use just help reduce some of the pain. And frequent high-heel wear = increased pain tolerance. For me, the pain is not actually less, I'm just better at tolerating it!
To some extent I agree with the point that it is easier to tolerate pain of more stylish shoes :shame:. In these cases, the pros of wearing the shoe (looking fabulous) far outweighs the cons (that little pain is nothing at all
)
I've seen Footpetals products at Nordstrom and I also Nordstrom.com.
One trick I learned was to wear trouser socks (or even a little thicker sock) when you first get a pair of heels and wear them around the house. I tried this recently with a pair of patent high heels. They broke in much faster than if I hadn't. I did it on a day that I was doing a lot of cleaning so that I would be guaranteed to take a lot of steps and go up and down our stairs.
One trick I learned was to wear trouser socks (or even a little thicker sock) when you first get a pair of heels and wear them around the house. I tried this recently with a pair of patent high heels. They broke in much faster than if I hadn't. I did it on a day that I was doing a lot of cleaning so that I would be guaranteed to take a lot of steps and go up and down our stairs.
