Toes Saver for High-Heel Wearers

High-heels are must-have in a lady's wardrobe. They come in different shapes and styles and they are always in the fashion trend.

Why? Because high-heels can do wonders to enhance a lady's look. They make her look taller, legs appear longer and more slender. And they can also miraculously make buttocks seem firmer and rounder to the eyes.

But wearing high-heels regularly have detrimental effects to the feet, and to other parts of the body too. It may cause foot deformities like bunion and degenerative changes in the knee joints. Since high-heels affect the way a lady stands, it affects her posture and thus might cause problem in the spine too.

But how can any lady give up the sexy heels? Moderation is the key. Choose heels fit properly (though oftern not easy!), wear high-heels on alternate days allows your foot to rest and recover with wearing more comfortable footwear. Of course doing Pilates can help too, it can maintain foot health as many Pilates exercises stress on proper foot/ toes alignment, balancing and strengthening the foot structures.

You can also save your foot (and save yourself from giving up wearing that favourite pair of heels!) by spending just 5 minutes every night doing simple stretches. I had made a video sometimes ago to demostrate these stretches, but I have yet to figure out how to add on subtitles (can some kind soul pls enlighten me!). So instead I have borrowed a good illustration from a Hong Kong lifestyle magazine, Sudden Weekly, which demostrate the stretches. Please bear with these static images and instructions till some kind soul enlighten me with simple and non-time-consuming video editing:
For those who can't read chinese, here is the translation:

1st Pic on the left: Gently pull the 1st tarsal (aka the big toes) downwards. Hold 30 seconds to lengthen and relax the joint.

2nd Pic on the left: Gently pull the big toes and 2nd toes apart. Hold for 30 seconds to "straighten" the big toe

3rd Pic on the left: Grab a small towel firmly with all the toes, repeat 3 sets of 20 repetitions to strengthen the foot muscles.

1st Pic on the Right: Stretch the big toe up towards your shin. Hold for 30 seconds to lengthen and relax the plantar fascia (fibrous supportive tissue) under the foot

Calf Stretch: Stand with back foot flat on floor and transfer weight to front foot. Keep your back straight and hold for about 20 seconds for each leg. This will help relax and lengthen the calves muscles.

Remember just 5 minustes a day can help prevent bunion and give you a prettier and healthier feet. It can also reduce your chance of having to go thru expensive and painful bunion surgery.

~~ 5 minutes a day will give you a prettier and healthier pair of foot!