To think your body can adapt to heels?

This.

Had a job for seven years that required heels. Later in life have had terrible sacroiliac joint problems that has stolen almost ten years of my life and repeated surgeries.

Huge regret.

I don't get why anyone would wear something that's causing them pain and permanent damage just because they think it looks good.

Personally I find heels quite old-fashioned now.

Why would you want to put your body through that?

I have ESSKA shoes, a few pair, and I’d never go back to conventional heels. Insanely comfy, you won’t know you are wearing heels. I find the quality great, no issues with the sole peeling, as someone mentioned.
You’ve held yourself differently in the heels, I would think. That’s what’s causing the back pain.

Somebody can always be relied upon to trot out a made up post like this on a heels thread.

It’s the shoe thread equivalent of Godwin’s law.

My 15 year old daughter pointed out today that only old people wear heels. It’s made me take notice and I think she’s right 😆 when I was out today I could only see women 50+ wearing heels.

Your body CAN adapt to heels, yes. But not in a good way, I'm afraid. Your body accommodates to walking wrong, for example by shortening your calf muscles. Some people who have worn heels continuously for years and years, actually have trouble walking in flats for this reason. I think it's hard for a body to be adapted to both flats and heels.

Historically, people with high shoes - the "well heeled", didn't walk much at all. I read somewhere that the heels showed off the fact they could afford to sit and be waited on all day!

Heels can cause serious foot and back problems.
Of course there'll be lots of posters saying they've never had problems despite wearing heels every day. However this is a stupid argument a bit like my dad who is 84 and has smoked since he was 16, claiming that smoking is okay because he hasn't got lung cancer (yet).

We should take tips from Princess Kate

No real advice, apart from if it hurts stop doing it!

I’m 50 and have worn heels that height for years. Work and leisure. Higher with a platform sole. I have bought five new pairs in the last fortnight. No problems with flats.

What someone said about weight is interesting because I’m quite slim.

Look at how very many women develop bunions in later life; then look at how many men get them.

The physiology of male and female feet is pretty much the same; so there's only one other possibility as to why it happens.

Without wanting to sound like a drama llama, I think the idea of 'training' your body to cope with repeated unnatural pressure until you cease to suffer from it just makes me draw the tragic comparison with children who are neglected, unloved and ignored and who gradually come to accept it as the norm.

In both scenarios, the best way by far to 'cope' with it is to never be in the position where you have to in the first place, if you have any personal choice or agency in it.

In my 20s I only wore heels and yes I adapted but at a cost. Ended up with such short hamstrings that I struggled to walk in flats.

I'm also a life long high heel wearer ( I have slight cerebral palsy so am a toe walker and way and walk on my toes in flats and break the soles in half) but like @MotherOfCatBoy I have mortons neuroma in both feet now (got MRI results last week) and will now need surgery on both feet at age 34.

@Rollonsummerplease because i was young, they looked good and were perfectly comfy.

I did ballet for years, into my early 20s, and when you can walk around and dance easily on your actual toes, high heels felt no different to slippers.

I get they cause damage though. I was lucky. I can't wear them like that now. (but can still stand in my old pointe shoes 😄)

I'm comfortable in heels. I salsa dance in them, often for hours, and also wear them for work etc. I treated myself to some Esska heels and sent them straight back - so uncomfortable.

Yes. Women are not naturally designed to walk on their tip toes with all the weight on the balls of their feet, but with enough practice we adapt. Calf muscles shorten, pelvis tilts, back curves and we're off. Running for the bus like we were born to them. I think the training probably works better when you're young. I started wearing them at 14 and was a pro until covid made me lose my skills. Last time I tried I felt like you. Couldn't be bothered to retrain though.

At 32 yes you probably can but you’ll suffer.

Don’t do it OP!

I wore heels a lot when I was younger and I developed a Morton’s neuroma (inflamed nerve between the toe tendons) that needed an operation. Haven’t worn them since. I miss the glamour a little bit but it’s just not worth the pain and deformity. I’m a runner too and my ability to have healthy feet to run on is the most important thing.

I think I got away with it while I was younger but post meno - no way.

I have numerous pairs of Esska heels and yes, they're super comfy! They're come up a bit wider and they have grippy bottoms and chunky heels. I love all of mine and wear them all the time! Try the Charlie style as they're not high at all!

As a short arse, I was still wearing 3 inch heels every day until I took early retirement at 59 five years ago. The last 10 years or so, it was block heeled ankle boots in winter and cork platform wedges in summer.
I now wear only Skechers or flat boots. I did try some of the wedges on recently when having a clear out and felt very wobbly and unsafe. I can still probably wear the boots as the ankles feel supported but wouldn't like to think how much pain they would cause the next day.

Why? Just why do that to yourself?
Why damage your body for a fashion fad?
The long term serious effects of wearing high heels are so well documented.
To me it's akin to seeing people smoking.

100%

Heels are the work of the devil. No woman on earth would choose to wear them without societal conditioning.