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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Kate Lloyd

Is it true that … wearing heels changes the shape of your feet?

An illustration of a pair of feet with painted nails, with the heels distorted into the shape of stilettos

‘If you’d asked me that 15 years ago, I would have said: ‘Absolute nonsense – it’s all genetics and shoes aren’t responsible for any problem,’” says Andrew Goldberg, consultant orthopaedic foot and ankle specialist at the Wellington hospital in London. But viewing 3D scans that show how people’s feet look while standing in their shoes changed his mind completely.

He took two scans of a person’s feet – one barefoot and one in high heels – and the difference was striking. In the high heels, the toes were crowded together, the big toe showed a bunion, and the smaller toes were clawed, gripping for balance.

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