High Heels Are Shrinking Your Calf Muscle

Lead author Robert Csapo and a team of researchers published a study Thursday indicating that regular high heel wearers face potentially damaging changes in the musculature of their legs. The study was released in the Journal of Experimental Biology by researchers from the University of Vienna’s Centre of Sport Sciences and University Sports in Austria.

The researchers discovered that for regular wearers of high heels (defined as five days a week or more), their calf muscle fibers shrank roughly 13 percent. Their Achilles tendon stiffened 22 percent on average. Csapo says that habitual high heel wearers face pain and possible injuries such as muscle tears or pulls when switching from their high heels to flats or barefoot. Csapo and his team used magnetic resonance imaging scans to carefully document the leg musculature of eleven women who wore mainly high heels and nine women who primarily chose flats.

While the study sample was small, the recorded data is reinforced by similar studies involving high heels. Experts suggest not wearing high heels for long periods of time and choosing heels with moderate height if they must be worn. Stretching the leg muscles regularly when wearing them can also help prevent leg damage.