Daily Beauty Tip- How To Wear High Heels Without Pain: 8 Expert Advise

It’s the age old problem every single
woman faces throughout her shoe-filled
life: the pain and discomfort associated
with wearing fabulous heels. Many of us
(guilty, here) have throughout the years
adopted a “grin and bear it” attitude,
choosing our love for stylish shoes over our
desire to be comfortable. It’s a trait we
aren’t necessarily proud of, and one that
regularly has the men in our lives raising
their eyebrows in disbelief.

But, as it turns out, fabulous heels and
pain-free feet aren’t mutually exclusive.
We spoke to About.com podiatry expert Dr.
Catherine Moyer, who gave us eight tips for
how to continue to wear stylish shoes—
without paying the price in comfort.

1. Make sure you are wearing the right size
shoe.
The number one mistake women make
would probably be not having the right
shoe size for their foot. Your foot size
changes over the years, even as much as
one full size, especially after having kids.
Have your feet sized once a year, and do it
if you’ve never had it done. Have your feet
measured when you’re buying shoes, for
width and for length as well. A lot of
people think they’re a wide or vise versa
and they’re not, so definitely do that
before you shop.

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2. Educate yourself on your own personal foot
type.
Know your foot type. In my opinion, a
podiatrist would be the best way to know
your foot type and what’s going on. If you
can’t run out to the podiatrist, there’s a
couple of neat ways to see if you have a
flat foot or a high-arch foot. Wet your foot
and step onto a piece of construction
paper. When you make an impression, it
will show you how much your foot is
flattening or how high of an arch you
have. You can look at a person’s foot type
and see why they are having pain.

3. The thicker the heel, the better.
Avoid thin heels, the stilettos. They cause
your foot to wobble around. Sometimes,
the dress is just going to call for a stiletto,
as long as it’s something that’s occasional.
If you’re wearing stilettos everyday, you
might want to consider a chunkier heel
style and change it up a bit.
These sleek sandals are a no-no, Dr. Moyer
says.

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4. Avoid thin soles, opting instead for a
platform.
Thin soles will almost always give you pain
on the bottom of your foot. You want a
thicker sole or a little bit of a platform,
which will offset some of the pressure
when you’re walking. A rubbery kind of
material will absorb that pressure.

5. Take breaks.
Kick your shoes off throughout the day and
stretch your ankles and toes.

6. Stretch your feet after you take your shoes
off.
The stretches that you’ll want to do are the
stretches that will target the front of the
foot and ankle, like pointing your toes
down, and pulling your toes up with a
strap to get the Achilles’ tendon and the
calf muscles. And then side to side to get to
the instep and the outside of the foot.


7. Try a shoe with more coverage up top.
The more coverage you have on the top of
your foot, the better. Sometimes high-
heeled boots are actually something you
can wear all day and they don’t bother
your feet as much. In the summer, you can
try something with an ankle strap or a big
wide strap across the top. If you’re prone
to blisters and friction, you might want to
try that style, something that covers more
of the top of your foot.

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8. Try Shoe Inserts
One thing to try are the over-the-coutner
products that market themselves for high
heels. They are called metatarsal or ball of
the foot pads. They are oval-shaped pads
that go under the ball of the foot, usually
made from a silicone gel. They combat
soreness under the ball of the foot.
Especially if it’s made of silicone, it will
hold your foot more steady in the shoe so
your feet aren’t sliding forward as much,
which will protect your toes from friction
and blisters.

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