Lady Gaga’s Highest, Wildest, and Fiercest Heels

No one does statement shoes quite like Lady Gaga. Where the average person would stop at 5-inch heel or 3-inch platform, Gaga prefers footwear that defies logic. At just 5’1”, the petite star uses supersize heels to literally elevate her looks, and can move better in towering boots than most do in sneakers. Her lavish and ornate outfits often take the bulk of attention, but Gaga’s shoes deserve a museum exhibit all their own.

Instead of simply picking what shows up on the runway, Gaga has always been inventive when it comes to her footwear choices. Apt to wear glossy heels straight from the local fetish boutique, or custom Giuseppe Zanotti pumps, she mixes it up depending on the event. Her most iconic looks often include shoes to match—yes there were meat boots to go with that infamous dress—and whether the moment is casual or broadcast for millions, she isn’t one to wear flats. A trip to the MTV Video Music Awards back in 2010 required McQueen’s famous armadillo platforms, while date night in Manhattan with fiancé Christian Carino back in May called for 10-inch black booties by Pleaser—meaning that within the span of nearly a decade, her love of extreme heights hasn’t changed.

Wild footwear may be the one constant within Gaga’s expansive wardrobe, and over the years she’s appeared in hundreds of jaw-dropping pairs, each one higher than the last. A look back at her best and boldest shows the impact shoes can have, and the diva will always have a leg up on the competition.

Opinion: End the tyranny of high heel culture, says doctor

It’s a well-established fact that wearing heels increases the risk of serious and painful health issues.

High heels force a woman’s weight forward onto the ball of her foot. As a result, she has to alter her posture to compensate. This has negative impacts on her entire body.

Let’s start with her feet. It can cause anything from mild pain to more serious problems such as Morton’s neuroma and possibly bunions. These conditions aren’t just painful, they usually require medical intervention.

It doesn’t stop there. In her calves, the muscles and tendons are forced to shorten, causing abnormal thickening and shortening of the tendons. This can lead to long-term problems in the ankles and knees.

Heels also force her lower back forward, erasing the normal curves in the spine, leading to back injuries.

Beyond the immediate physical problems, women who have to wear heels are at greater risk for injuries caused by tripping and falling. When a worker is on her feet for hours, carrying heavy items, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

The diagnosis is simple: it’s irresponsible and dangerous for restaurants to force employees to work in heels.

Alberta has high safety standards for workers in other sectors. Why don’t the same concerns apply to restaurants and retail? We wouldn’t expect a welder to forgo his welding helmet so we could see his beautiful eyes. We wouldn’t expect construction workers to toss their helmets so we can admire their hair. Come to think of it, we wouldn’t expect them to wear heels either.

It comes down to whether we value the health and safety of female employees, particularly when they have physically demanding jobs. Why is the visual effect of a woman in heels more important than her safety and comfort? The answer is obvious. These women are visual props for managers and owners hopeful for longer bar tabs and bigger tips.

But it’s not the owners and managers who will pay with years of pain. It’s young women who may well be afraid of losing tips, of being stuck on less lucrative shifts, or of the possibility that their jobs may be on the line.

Some restaurants have eased their rules in recent years, but that won’t be enough to solve the problem. Even if it’s not part of a dress code, only part of the workplace culture, it’s still a problem.

Some people think it’s attractive. I find it painful to watch. I was recently in a restaurant and was dismayed to see that every single server was wearing high heels. They were constantly on their feet, walking quickly and carrying heavy trays. It’s possible that they all freely chose to wear stilettos, but I think it’s highly unlikely.

I wondered how many of them would wear more comfortable shoes if they weren’t afraid to lose their jobs. I imagine few of them would. Without a legal right to reasonable and comfortable footwear, they don’t have a leg to stand on.

Heel culture is clearly problematic. It’s obviously unhealthy. And even if you’re not concerned about young women in the restaurant industry, it’s a medical issue that costs all Albertan taxpayers their hard-earned money.

As a family doctor, I regularly see patients with chronic foot pain or back pain caused by heels. I refer them to specialists. Some will go under the knife, costings thousands of dollars even without the recovery time.

I sincerely hope our government is able to pass a law that allows women to decide against heels in the workplace. It’s 2018. It’s long overdue.

This isn’t brain surgery. These are feet. We should start paying attention to what they’re telling us.

Monica Skrukwa, BMS, MD, CCFP, is a family physician in Calgary.

Most Women Love High Heels, But Doctors Warn They ‘Can Really Damage Feet’

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Most women know and love a good pair of high heels. Often, the higher the better. However, doctors warn high heels can really damage your feet, causing a lot of pain.

It is informally called “Big Toe Arthritis.” A new implant made out of contact lens material may provide you some relief.

Patient Elizabeth Carbonell explains, “I knew that I needed surgery to the point that I was limping.”

Carbonell has suffered from foot pain for years. She blames her love of high heels her entire adult life.

“I guess I was very vain when I was younger and I was always in high heels, to the point I would go to school in high heels, go to university in high heels, go to work in high heels,” she says.

However, a few years ago, the pain in Carbonell’s feet and the rest of her body became unbearable.

“That type of walking hinders you in other ways because it causes lower back problems,” Carbonell says, wincing at the memory of her pain. “That’s one of the biggest red flags in my case when you realize that you have such terrible pain in your lower back. And it’s all due to your feet and the way you’re walking.”

Carbonell ended up opting for surgery on her left big toe. But it only led to more problems and three surgeries. Even now, years later, she says it is painful. Her ability to move the toe is compromised.

“It was a complete disaster.”

Still in pain, limping and somewhat traumatized by how wrong things went in that last surgery where her toe joint fused and was made unmovable, Carbonell waited for just the right option for her other foot.

“The whole idea of having to re-do something like that again was just horrible in my mind,” she says.

“When we talk about big toe arthritis, we’re talking about this area here,” says Carbonell’s orthopedic surgeon says as he points to the bone of the big toe on a skeletal model.

Doctor Amiethab Aiyer with the University of Miami’s Health System is using the new Cartiva implant in surgeries for big toe arthritis.

Still pointing at the first joint of the big toe, Doctor Aiyer explains, “It’s this area here where my finger is that is particularly affected by this. That’s when we really start talking to the patients about adjusting shoe wear.”

If that fails, the talks switch to surgery.

About two million people across the U.S. have ‘big toe arthritis”, most of them women. Dr. Aiyer says you get big toe arthritis a couple of different ways, with varying degrees of severity and pain.

Inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis, gout, a fracture or broken bone are all often to blame. And of course, high heels.

“Loading of the joint in that particular fashion as the toe is sort of brought up with the high heel definitely causes more force and more stress on the joints in that area and definitely may be a reason why we see when patients come in with BTA early on big bone spurs that have formed in that particular spot.”

Doctor Aiyer continues, “Depending on the stage of the disease has really sort of dictated how we treat this. With lower stages or earlier grades, predominantly when there is a big bone spur on the top, you can make an incision on to the top of the big toe and remove the bone spur all the way to actually gluing the joint shut and fusing the toe when it’s really bad arthritis.”

“He recommended I do this joint fusion and the technology is nowhere,” Carbonell says.

The Cartiva implant is made with the same material used in contact lenses. It is durable and slippery, acting much like cartilage.

“Interestingly a lot of people still use metallic joint replacements that do involve some degree of screwed mechanics or some degree of screw material,” says the doctor. “The advantage with the Cartiva is the pain relief lasts for close to five years. In addition, people get between five and seven degrees more motion at the end of the surgery. You still have to make that dorsal incision, that incision on the top of the big toe to get down to the joint. The operative time is about 40% shorter. On average, a fusion can be done in about an hour whereas on average this takes anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes to complete.”

In contrast to the surgery on her left foot, three months after this procedure putting Cartiva in her right foot, Carbonell was quickly out of bed and off the crutches.

“I’m very pleased. The recuperation time has been wonderful,” she says happily. “Within six weeks. I was walking and doing therapy.”

Her right toe is still swollen. However, Carbonell’s wearing flat shoes and does so all the time now. And when she can, she tries to pass along some advice informed by her own many years in pain.

“I see these beautiful young women destroying their feet. I wouldn’t want other women to suffer the way I have. The issues that come along later in life aren’t worth it, it’s really not worth it.”

High-heel wearing should not be forced, study says

More needs to be done to stop women being forced to wear high heels at work, Aberdeen researchers have said.

Calls to introduce a law banning companies from telling women to wear high heels at work were rejected by the government in April.

The issue was debated after one woman who was sent home for wearing flat shoes set up a petition.

The University of Aberdeen researchers recommended further investigation into the issue.

The review examined research into the physical damage and injury that can be caused, as well as the social and cultural aspects surrounding the wearing of high heels.

It found large amounts of studies showed a link between wearing high heels and an increased risk of bunions, pain and injury.

However, it found a lack of clear evidence of an association between high heel wear and osteoarthritis.
Risks and benefits

The authors drew a distinction between the UK – where the government has pledged to develop guidelines and raise awareness that female workers should not be forced to wear high heels without introducing new legislation – and the Canadian province of British Columbia, which has amended legislation to now prohibit employers from requiring staff to wear high heels.

Dr Max Barnish, who led the research, said: “From our review it is clear that despite the huge amount of evidence showing heels are bad for individuals’ health, there are complex social and cultural reasons that make high-heel wearing attractive.”

Dr Heather Morgan, a lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, added: “Of course we are not trying to tell anyone that they should or shouldn’t wear high heels but we hope this review will inform wearers to help them weigh up the health risks with social benefits.”

She added that it was hoped the review would “put pressure on law makers to toughen up legislation so that no-one is forced against their will to wear them in the workplace or in licensed public social venues”.

Source: BBC