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Utter Bosh

Wednesday April 6, 2005 

High heels may cause arthritis
(dated May 8, 1998 at news.bbc.co.uk)

This article reviews the initial (1998) research findings on high heels conducted by Harvard Medical School as reported in the Lancet Medical Journal. With all due respect to the researchers, I strongly disagree with their approach and findings.

The basis of their research was that “osteoarthritis of the knee is twice as common in women as in men”. Then, they gathered 20 healthy women and studied them in “high heels” versus “barefoot”.

They measured an “average 23% greater forces” on the knees with high heels. Do these researchers know that this amount can be insignificant in causing any damage to the knees?

What these researchers should have done was use epidemiological field research techniques in tracking down the women and men with osteoarthritis in their knees and finding out their use of high heels in detail. Then, draw conclusions from this data.

Furthermore, do these researchers have any idea as to the amount of greater forces that excess weight will put on the knees? I have known two individuals to have osteoarthritis in their knees. One was the mother of a woman I knew and she was usually about 125+ lbs. overweight. The other was a male co-worker, who was usually about 200+ lbs. overweight.

Also, do these researchers have any idea as to the amount of greater forces that running will put on the knees, especially up and down steep hills? Do these researchers have any idea as to the amount of greater forces that skiing will put on the knees? Do these researchers have any idea as to the amount of greater forces that jumping will put on the knees?

Also, Tina Turner is over 60 and has been walking and dancing in high heels for decades in the public eye. Yet, I have not heard her complaining about osteoarthritis in the knees.

Moreover, many individuals who have osteoarthritis in the knees also have osteoarthritis in other parts of their bodies, like their hands. So, why didn’t these researchers conclude that high heels may cause osteoarthritis in the hands as well. This could have earned them a Noble prize.

Filed Under High Heels

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