in brief: ain’t nobody got time fo’ high heel-related ED visits

Image: Wikimedia Commons

A  study of admissions to Victorian emergency departments has discovered 236 women were admitted with high heel-related injuries between 2006 and 2010.

The figure does not include the 45 people stepped on by heels or 16 people assaulted with the weapon-grade shoes.

The research lead by Melbourne podiatrist, Cylie Williams found men weren’t strangers to the dangers of arching footwear, with four of them joining the ladies lined up to see a doctor.

The most common injuries seen by triage include fractured legs and feet, sprained ankles, wrists and hands, as well as facial lacerations.

While the average age group presenting to EDs was 20-24, the study found six girls under the age of nine were admitted – guessed by the author to be due to dancing performances.

Dr Williams hopes the figures will allow heel-lovers to reflect on the possible damage that can be caused and only don them in moderation.

‘Anything over seven centimetres places you at great risk of ankle injury, just due to how the foot is positioned and no amount of muscle strength is going to change that,’ Dr Williams told The Age.

The true extent of high heel injuries over the period in Victoria is unknown, due to the likelihood of hospital staff not reporting the footwear’s causal link.