Over the years as a Personal Trainer in Chicago, I have noticed a large majority of my female clients tend to complain of lower back and knee problems. Besides the obvious anatomical reasons such as wider hips, I always felt other factors contributed to the aches and pains. Having wider hips forces the femur to angle inward, placing stress on the medial aspect of the knee, which can cause knee problems. A recent study has revealed that wearing high heels may exacerbate this structural imbalance.
Danielle Barkema, a Kinesiology Graduate at Iowa State University, studied the effects of women wearing high heeled shoes. The study looked at the how wearing shoes with varying heel heights, may contribute to knee osteoarthritis and joint degeneration over time.
Since women begin wearing high heels at a very young age, test subjects were studied who wear high heels for at least two days a week. 15 women were studied using flat shoes, 2″ heels and 3.5″ heels. Barkema measured the forces on the knee joint and the shock that travels up the leg during the heel strike phase of walking. What she found was: as heel height increases, so does the compression on the medial or inside aspect of the knee. She measured the effects using camera’s, sensors, accelerometers and a force platform. Her findings show that over time, wearing high heels even two days a week and greater than 2″ can greatly contribute to a degeneration of the knee joint and lead to osteoarthritis.
In addition, wearing heels over 2″ in height also effects the individuals walking pattern, subsequently changing the position of the ankle, knee, hip and trunk. This altered walking pattern may lead to lower back problems as well.
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John Turk
I have been in the fitness industry as a Chicago Personal Trainer for over 20 years.
I have also become a familiar face in the fitness industry as a Chicago personal trainer and have appeared on the cover of such magazines as Muscle & Fitness, Physical and Planet Muscle.
My Specialties:
Instruction in Plyometrics as well as sport specific activities, Body Building, Nutritional guidance, Kickboxing and Self-defense. Over-all toning and weight loss instruction. 
As a woman we all love our high heels. We all love to slip on our favorites and watch our legs elongate and in our heads we look slimmer…it doesn’t matter at the time that our back is going to hurt, our toes are screaming , arches are dying…blah, blah , blah..We look good…right??? I can honestly say I have started to limit my wearing of those beautiful shoes. As a almost 50 year old woman , and mother of a Dr. who is constantly on this topic with me, I am well aware of the consequences of wearing high heels. I keep them for special occasions and also where I know I will not be walking. It is ok to put the high heels in a bag and slip on the flip flops to get where you are going as well. Our knees and feet will thanks us down the road ladies.
Hi John,
I’ve had cellulite on my hamstrings/buttocks since I reached puberty-it just sort of popped up. I eat pretty healthy meals-nothing fried and no excessive sugar. My mother has it pretty bad on her thighs as well so, I attribute it to genetics b/c I’ve always been very active and in shape, but its like it has never budged despite my efforts. I worked with a trainer a couple years ago for about 2-3 months and it seemd like my thighs got smaller and solid(more so my quads did), but still with cellulite-like really? Is there no way to rid of this? Should I try working my hammies directly with weigts to minimize its appearance-its not extreme, but its enough to keep me out of a bikini. I’ve tried some creams but to no avail. Am I stuck with this? Help me John….
Hi Chanel,
Like you many women suffer from cellulite more so than men and it doesn’t always appear on the buttocks and legs. I’ve seen it just about everywhere!!! So more than likely it’s hormone related. No one really knows for sure and most of the so called experts theorize and speculate. Cellulite is basically how the body deposits fat. Many times people try to get rid of it but once it sets in it’s really hard to work off. When you say you eat pretty well, exercise regularly and say your in shape many people have different perceptions what each one of those mean without actually meeting you. My idea of in shape and exercising and eating well I can guarantee you is drastically different than most. At any rate, without meeting you I can’t really tell you much other than a few things. 1) STAY OUT OF THE SUN! The sun ruins the collagen underneath your skin as well as your skin. Collagen is what gives your skin it’s full and lively appearance. The main life style changes you need to make to prevent degrading your collagen is, stay out of the sun, do not smoke cigarrettes, or drink alcohol excessively.
The other thing i think helps is to exercise vigorously but wisely. By exercising routinely and aggressively, the bodies hormonal system stays healthier as well, which means a healthy thyroid gland and sex glands. Also, for women that means greater bone density as you age. Lastly lets not forget a good nights sleep.
It sounds simple but as the old saying goes “an ounce of prevention, saves you several trips to the plastic surgeon”. Yeah I know I made that up
Before beginning any exercise program it’s always advisable to see your doctor and have he or she give you a clean bill of health. Next, hire a good personal trainer and not one that does it as a side job. Check out this link which tells you how to find a good personal trainer.
All the best