High heels look while chic, wearing the high shoes but often leads to symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and a heaviness in the legs. Researchers of the University of São Paulo in Brazil now found the reason: the high-heeled shoes adversely affect the venous return of blood in the legs.
For their study, the researchers examined 30 young women who have suffered no problems with the legs or feet. Objective of the study was to determine whether different types of shoe different heel heights and form compared to the Barefoot affect the venous reflux in the leg. For this, the researchers use the air plethysmographic specific the venous filling index (VFI), the ejection fraction (EF) and residual volume fraction (RVF) in the calves of the women. For every woman, the values were measured respectively four times: once barefoot, even with 3.5 cm high heels, one with 7 cm high Stilettoabsätzen, once with 7 cm high platform shoes. This women stretched their feet, they bowed, stood or were.
The paragraphs of the shoes were higher, the worse the venous pump in the legs of the women worked. The residual volume fraction, that is the volume of blood that is pumped from the legs back upwards into the systemic circulation was highest when wearing high heels with Stiletto-and platform sales. Also when wearing medium-sized paragraphs, the RVF was higher than at the barefoot, but lower than when wearing high paragraphs. The values for the ejection fraction behaved just vice versa. That there showed up with highest volume at the barefoot.
The conclusion of the scientists is therefore: high heels reduce the pumping function of the leg muscles. Constant wearing of shoes with high heels can therefore lead to a venous hypertension in the lower extremities and subsequently to varicose veins.











