High Heel Peace

I hate wearing high heels. I don't care that I'm short and could use the extra height. They're uncomfortable, unstable and unhealthy. Research has shown that high heels can contribute to the development of chronic knee pain, sprained ankles and back problems. It's a conspiracy of fashion to sacrifice women's health for the sake of beauty. I'll never be a fashion plate because given the choice, I'll pick comfort and health over looks. However, when it comes to wearing dresses for evening wear, I don't have much choice in shoes. But to my shock, I've just discovered one very specific case where wearing high heels may help me more than hurt me.


Last night we went salsa dancing for the first time in four years or so. We stopped because it was frustrating for Lee and painful for my ankles. Ever since I pulled my Achilles tendon playing ultimate frisbee, my puny little ankles have never been the same. If I don't have healthy ankles, knees, legs then I can't go to karate practice which would make me grumpy. In fact, I've had to curtail all dancing except for special occasions because of ankle trouble.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Maria suggested we go salsa dancing. I figured that it had been a while since I went dancing and agreed. But I didn't have decent dance shoes. The pair I have is sufficiently low-heeled but gives me blisters and is more suitable for swing fashion than salsa fashion. So I ordered a pair with 2.5 inch heels that the internet reviews claimed was very comfortable provided you ordered a size up (which I did).

Imagine my surprise when I tested them out in my living room to find that they were quite comfortable to dance in. I had to stay on my toes because putting weight back on my heels was a guaranteed wobble. The cool thing was that because of the heels, I was taking more of the physical strain in my calves - a much bigger, stronger part of my body than my ankles. I figured out that the higher heel prevented me from flexing my foot on a backwards step to the degree that my ankles don't like.

The true test was the actual salsa club. After five hours at the club, the part of me that was sore were my toes, not my ankles, not even my calves. For a night of salsa dancing, I consider that a success of health and I attribute it largely to my new dance shoes. It remains to be seen whether we do more salsa dancing, but I think I may be back in the game if we do, thanks to high heeled shoes.

I still hate high heels for most other applications, but in salsa dancing I don't think I'll wear any other kind.