Negative effect the stylish female's choice of footwear has on their bodies.

Afrik Update

The higher the heel, the more they tilt your body forward and the more you have to lean back to compensate. This can put your pelvis out of alignment and cause compression of the spine.

'High heels ram your foot forward, which squishes your toes together and can cause ingrown toe nails, rough areas of skin, blemishes, and calluses.

The diagram shows how wearing high heels places excess force on the inside of the knee - a common site of osteoarthritis among women.

One study found that knee joint pressure increased by as much as 26 per cent when a woman wears heels. The height of your heels and a narrow toebox can create a thickening of tissue around a nerve between the third and fourth toes, which can lead to pain and numbness in the toes called Morton's neuroma.

The research also highlights an issue they have dubbed 'pump bump'- caused by the rigid backs or straps of high heels which irritate the heel and create a bony enlargement also known as Haglund's deformity.

Ankle injuries are also a huge cause for concern as high heels impair balance and a wearer is therefore at greater risk of falling, which could lead to a sprained or broken ankle. 

High heels also cause the body's weight to be redistributed and prolonged wear can lead to joint pain on the ball of the foot called Metatarsalgia.

The higher a heel, the more damage it will have on your Achilles tendon as it causes it to tighten up and create pain.

And it seems that younger women are most at risk as a study found that the younger the woman, the higher their heels.

Roughly 20 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 own a pair of six-inch high heeled shoes. This compares with 10 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 and just 3 per cent of 35 to 44 year olds.

Source"Washington Post