Do you're feet hurt?

[Cali]

I'm asking this question because last week a woman asked me if my feet hurt. I was walking to my car at work and a woman I had never seen before stopped me to tell me she loved my heels (SpeedLimit98 lace-up wedges). Then she asked how much my feet hurt. Somehow she equates heels with foot pain. I told her I only buy heels that fit, so no my feet don't hurt at all.  She was surprised because according to her high heels hurt your feet. 

So my question to this forum, does your feet hurt when you wear heels?

[spikesmike]

Cali: I have worn high heels for so long I have learned to buy heels that fit properly. The only trouble I have wearing high heels

is with my Ballet high heel boots. Feet don't hurt but my toes take a beating. These shoes have 7 1/2" heels  w/  1 3/4"  Plat. 

It's a job wearing these for a distance but my feet don't hurt.   spikesmike

[pebblesf]

Like you guys say, fit and heel design mean everything....I can wear my 4.5" Ralph Lauren boots all day with no pain at all.  The balls of my feet really start burning badly with some of my other boots, even with insoles...

[Aly]

I've got a touch of arthritis in the joint of the big toe on my right foot - I have a few pairs of heels that cause me some discomfort after a while, but most of my shoes don't bother me.

[nzfreestyler]

Hi Cali,

My heels don't hurt my feet because I shop around and get shoes that fit me, and only genuine leathers so they are more supple.

I would have to admit though that I do get sore on the big toe and little toe in some of my pointier toed high heel pumps, especially my taller ones after a lot of standing and walking. Most days I  could average 6 hrs on my feet, and walk several kms. Best way would to describe it would be to say that my outer toes get tender from the pointed toe shape and low vamp styles. My balls of my feet don't get sore in any of my heels, even the tallest ones are comfy. The tenderness goes very quickly as soon as I move round or flex my foot a little. Thats why I prefer a shoe with an almond shaped toebox for outright comfort - but also love the look of a good pointy toe too!.

We've been given Dr Scholls inserts at work and they really do work wonders, they cushion the ball of foot and have a little ridge under the ball of your foot that catches your foot and stops you sliding down your heels into the toe box. It helps prevent pinched toes, and they provide extra arch cushioning too. Wonderful little things - highly recommended. 

The shoes are horses for courses - pick the right pump for the parade!

[mlroseplant]

"Hurt" is really such a vague term. There is hurt, and then there's HURT. People ask me this all the time, as well. "Don't those hurt?" If they want to take the time to listen, which they usually don't, I'll tell them that it's a little bit like doing an athletic activity. If you play three sets of tennis, you're probably going to hurt a little bit afterwards. If you do an hour's worth of weightlifting in the gym, you will hurt afterwards. But it's the kind of achy, muscular hurt that will eventually make you stronger. That's the kind of hurt I experience 99.9% of the time when wearing heels these days. When most women say that heels hurt them, I believe they are genuinely talking about something else altogether, something else more intensely painful and potentially damaging to their feet. Part of it, I have come to believe, is just genetic. Some people just can't wear heels. Other people it seems, and this number is very few, can wear heels with abandon naturally without really working at it. Most of us fall somewhere in between. I have worked hard at it. I didn't get to where I am right now by accident. Let me tell you a story:

About five years ago, when I was just starting to wear heels in public, I marched myself into a Kohl's (lower end department store), and found me a pair of Vera Wang (low end "Simply Vera" line) ankle boots that I found very attractive. They had 5 inch heels, and about 1 inch platforms, and were not quite stiletto thin, but slim heels. At the time, that was a ridiculously high heel for me, but I was rather pleased with how easily I could walk in them, so I wore them to the large shopping mall across the way to take care of some business with my mobile phone account. The distance I had to walk was not far by today's standards for me, but I bet all in all it was about a mile. That was not my biggest problem. The biggest problem was that the mobile phone store was super crowded, and I had to wait a long time to be served, then wait some more while they fixed my problem. That took about an hour. An hour of standing in those new boots. Then having to walk half a mile back to the car. I thought I was going to DIE! My feet hurt soooo bad, and not in a good, achy way. It was more like what most women describe when they bitch about wearing heels, are my feet ever going to be the same? Have I done some permanent damage here? I began to despair that it was even possible to wear heels all day, every day for mere mortals.

Fast forward several years, hundred of miles and hours of progressively more ambitious shoes, and those same boots (well not the exact same ones, but the same model) carried me easily all day when we visited the Omaha Zoo with no searing pain whatsoever. They are quite a comfortable boot, and I could wear them practically anywhere now, even if I have to stand for a long period of time. Do my feet feel tired at the end of the day? Of course they do, people who wear only flats complain about this all the time. But it's an almost enjoyable feeling, knowing I have spent the entire day in heels, which for some odd reason just makes me feel very happy. Most people can't understand that. I guess it's why I stay around here and continue posting.

[Cali]

Like nzfreestyler, I wear high heels to work everyday and I'm on my feet for 3-4 hours at a time, even more. Unlike nzfreestyler, I don't wear pumps, skirts, or dresses. I have gel pads that keep your foot from sliding down in every pair of heels. The sale associate at Aldos walks into the back room and grabs a pair of gel pads whenever she see's me walk into the store.

I agree fit is of up most importance and this is often of secondary or tertiary importance to women. That's why I don't wear pumps, never found one that fit. You need to understand your foot too. The triple threat of wide foot, thick foot pads, and high arches, gives me a large girth toe box. That's why I have many lace-ups and sandals, they fit better.

Genetic does play a role. My daughter has her mother's bunions, no wonder she complains when we go to dinner together that her dad has higher heels - and I usually wear one of my lower heels when I'm around her.

[Lawrence]

When I wear heels My feet do not hurt.  In fact my feet feel more comfortible in heels then flats.  However I have a pair of pink strappy heels and my little toe ( right side) does not fit behind the strap like it is supposed to and that causes preasure on it and after a short while does begin to hurt.

[Cali]

A couple of you have mention your right baby toe. Let me tell you a precautionary tale.

Last May I was barefooted at night in my garage putting some stuff in my car when I "kicked" a very large piece of wood with my right foot. It damaged a joint in my number 4 toe and that pushed my baby toe up and out. I had to have surgery to remove the damaged joint and put my baby toe back in place. They put an eight inch pin down each toe and into the bottom of my foot for 12 days. Not fun. 

So be careful. If you toe doesn't fit right, don't force it, don't buy the shoes.

 

PS. My podiatrist loves my nail color.

Edited July 5, 2017 by Cali

[Rockpup]

I have a pinched nerve on the top outer joint behind my big toe on my left foot that I think was caused by trying to "break in" too many new pairs of shoes/boots in a short time frame. Ooops. 

[Charlotte]

They do if sized improperly or are really cheep.  I can weAr quality heels a long time without them hurting.  If they cause blisters they arnt fitting correctly.  IMO if the shoe fits right there shouldn't be any movement on your foot.  Now yes some extrame heels that bend your toes might ache a little, but you get used to it with regular stretching.

[Shyheels]

You're obviously quite committed!

Any shoe can mess your feet up if the fit is poor or the workmanship is shoddy. I had a pair of brand name running shoes that were poorly made. I noticed they weren't quite right when I went out the door but I was foolish enough to think it wouldn't matter that much; they turned my the instep of left foot into hamburger after ten miles. I had to hobble home. Lesson learned.

Edited October 2, 2017 by Shyheels