There is an old saying that ‘beauty and pain often walk hand in hand’. Women have been rushed to emergency rooms due to beauty accidents but the question is how far are we willing to go for fashion? Do you ever think that the type of footwear you choose can be harmful for your health?

The fashion world has gone past exaggeration with shoe heel length. Today shoes are as high as ten inches and more and more women continue to wear them, often with little thought of the consequences.

"The shoes might be torturing you, but you become used to it. They put you in pain, but you think, No? It is worth it” says college student Eve Kalima.

While many women like Eve believe that wearing a higher heel is more fashionable and provides the look that they are seeking, medical experts warn that the medical effect of high heels are more than women care to consider.

"Wearing high heels for a long period of time can cause your heel to adapt to the position of the shoe. This affects the way you walk and the positioning of your spinal cord which results to many spinal complications” says or Steve Shaka a medical practitioner at the King Faisal Hospital.

Dr Shaka points out that "the constant wearing of high heels may cause joint pain in the ball of the foot and chronic lower back pain, caused by throwing your spine forward and out of alignment.”

He adds thatwhen you are in high heels your lower back bends to maintain balance and this becomes a reason for changes of position of your spine. 

This results in pressure mounting on nerves in the back of your neck these results to lower back pains which can cause permanent spine damage.”

Another medic, Dr Kalisa reiterates that "heels strain the thigh, neck, spine muscles.” He however advised that high heels should not be avoided altogether, but can be worn occasionally. Consistently wearing them is what should be avoided.

For Sarah Nyaga, a 25-year-old fashion designer the effects of high heels are very real. Last year she broke a bone and ripped a ligament in her foot while wearing her favourite pair of six inch high heels.

"I would always plan on not walking for long distances in them, but then you end up walking more than you think you will.  The night it happened, I had been on my feet the whole night.” Sarah sadly explains.

Despite the dangers involved, some women say the style and the look of high heels are worth the risk. Heels are said to be a magnificent height transformation miracle that short women enjoy. Women have said that walking in heels also tends to give them a natural sway that flat shoes never bring out.

"My friends always make fun of my height but when I wear heels I look taller. I love wearing high heels because they look cute with my outfits, to look good you have to make sacrifices, sometimes I wear flat shoes to help my legs relax,” says Dynese Gikombe. As much as many people love heels, for others they are an avoidable inconvenience.

"I do not like wearing high heels because they are uncomfortable and difficult to walk in. My work involves moving around a lot and I can’t do that in heels so I avoid them,” said Rene Mbarige a marketing executive.

The shoes debate on heels or flat can rage on and on.  It is however important for us to know how far we are willing to push ourselves in the name of looking good. So the next time you are standing in line to buy that perfect set of heels ask yourself how much you love your health.

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