They throw your center of gravity off, put pressure on your back and can create muscle cramps. Sounds like some kind of torture device, right? Think again. Those are just some of the health problems women who wear high heels on a regular basis can expect to have, says Dr. Machelle Seibel, professor of gynecology at the University of Massachusetts, Worcester.

The first rule is to wear lower heels. Dr. Larrian Gillespie, author of “You Don’t Have to Live with Cystitis” (Harper Paperbacks, 2006)…. Aside from causing lower back problems, Gillespie says that high heels force your buttocks to “stick out” especially when wearing heels that are too high for your anatomy. It causes what he calls “sway back.”

“Chronic sway back can cause bladder infections because the signals from the nerves running down the outside of the spine in the lower back become short circuited,” Gillespie says.

from Record Online

A 1998 United States study by a team of Harvard researchers found a link between high heels and knee osteoarthritis, a painful, degenerative joint disease characterised by the breakdown of cartilage surrounding the knee.

The study found that walking on 5cm heels increases strain on the parts of the knee that are most vulnerable to osteoarthritis by 23 per cent compared with walking barefoot.

Podiatrists Mind Your Body spoke to also warned of other health hazards like back problems, sprained ankles, tendinitis, hammer toes, corns and calluses.

“In the worst case scenario, women may get fractures on the balls of their feet,” says Tan Tock Seng Hospital senior podiatrist Kin Ismail.

from Asia One

Can affect the bones. The constant pressure can damage the bones of the legs
Back pain- High heels can cause back pain in the long run. They may be fashionable, but not advisable medically
Can make you look awakward, if cannot walk properly
Mobility becomes restricted you cannot run if you want to
Among teenagers or children, the bones of the legs may not form properly.

from Footcare