HIGH HEEL SHOES

OUTCOME OF WEARING IN YOUNG GENERATION: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY.

Abstract

Object: Outcome of wearing high heel shoes in young generation: A Cross
Sectional Study. Introduction/ Background: High heels increase the heel height, thus
increasing the pressure under the metatarsal head in forefoot, they push the center of mass of the
body forward taking the hips and spine out of alignment moreover the altered posture of walking
1-5 in high heels places excessive forces on the inside of the knee joint . All these factors contribute
in causing deleterious pathologic deformities. The studies carried out previously were more
focused on the adult population furthermore there isn’t much work done to investigate the effect
of heels in Pakistan therefore, this was a non-invasive study the purpose of which was to evaluate
these complications particularly targeting the medical students of medical colleges, Karachi.
Methods: A total of 220 respondents aged between 15 to 25 years were selected as potential
respondents meeting the criteria for selection. A convenience based randomized sampling
method was adopted, where the participants were required to fill questionnaires and give their
demographic details. They were inquired about the presence of any co morbidities which was an
essential part of the exclusion criteria. They were also inquired about their usage of high heel
shoes, their size, duration and frequency of usage, and if they had been causing any
complications such as bunions, heel spur, callosities or pain in soles, calf or back. The data
obtained was analyzed through SPSS and the graphs of frequency for all the complications were
computed. Results: After analyzing the 220 participants it was found that 7.7% were males while
92.3% were females, and 61.8% were found to be within 21 to 23 years of age. After the analyses
of data for the complications it was found that out of the total participants 18.8% experience foot
swelling, 19.4% blisters, 16.4% foot numbness, 12.3% foot callosities, 2.8% heel spur, and 3.7%
experience bunions. Conclusions: From this study conducted on the students of medical
college it was found that wearing high heel shoes is not associated with any significant
complications among most of the students