Wearing high heels causes calf muscles to bulge

Some female friends need to wear high heels frequently, which will make their calf muscles bulge. This is a very common adverse reaction. Not only that, wearing high heels for a long time may also induce paronychia. The reason is that the toenails will be damaged due to external force and impact during repeated squeezing, which will form an inflammatory disease over time and must be treated correctly.

1. Flat feet

Long-term wearing of high heels will concentrate the body's strength on certain parts of the sole of the foot instead of dividing it evenly over the entire sole, resulting in poor walking posture and weakness of the foot muscles, which can then develop into spastic flat feet. When walking daily, the human body relies on the base of the big toe, the base of the little toe and the heel to support the body weight. When wearing high heels, the body weight is basically transferred to the forefoot, which can easily cause the forefoot to widen and the big toe to bend outward, resulting in "hallux valgus". The tendons in the arch of the foot will be stretched, and over time, the tendons will relax, the arch will lose its supporting function and collapse, and the original arch of the foot will collapse or disappear, forming flat feet.

2. Paronychia

If the toenails are squeezed or repeatedly impacted by external force, it is easy to cause ingrown toenails and bacterial infection, leading to paronychia. Wearing high heels for a long time can "invite" onychomycosis through excessive squeezing, friction and pressure on the toes caused by the shoes. Studies have shown that the time spent wearing high heels is directly proportional to the incidence of onychomycosis, with damage to the little toe and big toe being particularly prominent. In addition, wearing narrow, high-heeled shoes increases the pressure and friction on the forefoot, which can easily cause corns and calluses.

3. Toe deformation

Wearing high heels for a long time can also cause toe deformation, which is often manifested by symptoms such as hammer toes, bunions, hallux valgus, and inversion of the little toe. Because the bones of the metatarsal joints protrude inward, wearing pointed high-heeled shoes for a long time will put pressure on the forefoot bones, affecting the muscles attached to the big toe, causing the big toe to move along the direction of the other toes. If women wear high heels without tying shoelaces and the shoes are relatively small, it is more likely to cause the toes of the feet to be squeezed, resulting in hallux valgus or deformation of the little toe.

4. Knee arthritis

Dr. Chen Qun told reporters that according to a study by British scholars on the relationship between knee arthritis and high heels, the forces on the hip, knee and ankle joints when wearing high heels and walking barefoot are completely different. Frequent wearing of high heels will significantly change the normal function of the ankle joint. When walking, the human body must compensate with the hip and knee joints to maintain a stable gait. Prolonged tension and pressure can lead to degenerative changes in the patellofemoral joint cavity, thereby inducing knee arthritis.

5. Ankle Injury

Wearing high heels can also change the shape of your feet and leg muscles. Since the foot moves forward and stands mainly on the toes, the contraction of the calf muscles is intensified. Practice has shown that long-term tension in the legs can cause shortening of the leg tendons, which in turn can damage the ankles that maintain the body's balance. When wearing high heels, the heel is raised, the flexibility of the compressed Achilles tendon decreases, and Achilles tendonitis is prone to occur. The stability of the ankle joint becomes weakened, so in orthopedic clinics, we often encounter cases of ankle sprains or even fractures caused by improper wearing of high heels.