Any experience with high heels causing foot cramps?

[elrohwen]

I've been getting cramps in my feet for the past few years; not all the time, but enough. They're always on the top of my foot around the third and fourth toes, not in the arch. I used to get them mainly after running, so I thought it was just that I needed to replenish water, but I haven't been running in a while and I'm still getting them. Then I realized that I only get them on days I wear heels! Could that be causing it? I don't wear heels every day, only when I'm in the office (maybe 1-2 days a week) and I don't do a ton of walking in them. I know that heels can cause all sorts of knee and ankle problems, but I've never heard of foot cramps ... anyone have any experience?

ETA: I never get cramps while I'm wearing heels, usually it happens when I'm exercising or sometimes when I'm just sitting around at home.

 

[scarleta]

Elrohwen: you have the answer to your problem and you are right.
"Then I realized that I only get them on days I wear heels!"

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 11/18/2008 1:28:02 PM
Author: scarleta
Elrohwen: you have the answer to your problem and you are right.
''Then I realized that I only get them on days I wear heels!''

Haha, I guess you''re right. But I''m not convinced that since they seem to happen on heel days that they''re not caused by something else. I know cramps can be caused by things such as vitamin deficiency.

 

[scarleta]

~Elrohwen: you found one good reason ,so I would stop wearing the heels for at least 6 -8 weeks and see.No need to look for another reason as yet.

 

[LAJennifer]

Date: 11/18/2008 1:32:05 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 11/18/2008 1:28:02 PM
Author: scarleta
Elrohwen: you have the answer to your problem and you are right.
''Then I realized that I only get them on days I wear heels!''

Haha, I guess you''re right. But I''m not convinced that since they seem to happen on heel days that they''re not caused by something else. I know cramps can be caused by things such as vitamin deficiency.

I get the same exact cramps - they make life miserable (I had one for 20 minutes once). They go away if I stop wearing high heels. I have to wear heels sometimes though - increasing calcium and magnesium seems to help a little. The next time you get a cramp - try going outside and standing (flat feet) on cold concrete (porch or driveway).

 

[VRBeauty]

I've had the same pain, including a few incidents where it's persisted for a few days (as in one foot screams in pain when I try to wear a shoes with anything over a 1/2 inch or so heel). It seems to be triggered by wearing high heels on a very regular basis, particularaly when I take the bus to work and have to walk a few blocks on either end. I take it as a message from my feet to lay off the heels for awhile -- the first time it happened and it sent me to the mall to invest in a few pairs of very low-heeled shoes! Nowadays I make an effort not to wear high heels for more than a few days at a time when at all possible. I also discovered Dansko clogs during one of these episodes. They're my favorite shoe to wear with jeans, and I swear by them as a way to give my feet a rest from the torture of high heels.

BTW this might be what's going on:

http://www.footphysicians.com/footankleinfo/mortons-neuroma.htm

 

[tabu]

I am such a heel freak! I wear heals all the time, pretty much everyday and everywhere, except if I''m working out. And I also get foot cramps. I know its because of the heels, hello! They are not good for your feet

But if you just massage them after you wear heels and stretch your feet out you should be fine. My take on heels is, if you can wear ''em... wear''em! But I think the cause of the cramp is because heels put your foot in a certain position, so even if you arent walking a lot in them, your foot is still arched.

 

[elrohwen]

Thanks to LAJennifer, VRBeauty, and tabu for your responses! I can''t believe some of you have had cramps for 10-20 min! Luckily mine only last for under a minute and I can usually get rid of them by jumping up and down or walking around. The worst is when they happen while I''m running and then I have to stop in the middle of the street and stretch my foot in weird directions to get it to stop.

I generally only wear heels 1-2 times a week because those are the only days I''m in the office, so I''m glad I keep it to a minimum. I''ll have to try to not wear my tallest shoes two days in a row and mix it up with short ones every other day.

Maybe I can use this as an excuse to get a foot massage from FI

 

[iwannaprettyone]

I have hagland''s so I''m not supposed to wear heels....but I do, lol

No pain no gain right?

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 11/18/2008 4:51:31 PM
Author: iwannaprettyone
I have hagland''s so I''m not supposed to wear heels....but I do, lol

No pain no gain right?

Haha, I completely agree. I''m writing a post about foot cramps while I''m sitting here wearing my super hot 3.5" zebra print peep toes

 

[iwannaprettyone]

cuteness!

 

[Tuckins1]

My cramps usually happen in my toes... After I take my heels off. I also have horrible pain/numbness in the balls of my feet if I wear heels for more than an hour or so. After my wedding, my toes on both feet were actually numb for three days!!! It was really scary.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 11/18/2008 8:02:29 PM
Author: Tuckins1
My cramps usually happen in my toes... After I take my heels off. I also have horrible pain/numbness in the balls of my feet if I wear heels for more than an hour or so. After my wedding, my toes on both feet were actually numb for three days!!! It was really scary.

Tuckins, that''s so scary! I would probably freak out if my feet went numb. I''ve occasionally had numbness in my fingers while bike riding or something and that freaks me out even though it''s only for half an hour.

Did you wear heels a lot in the past before this happened? Or did you always have the same problem with heels?

 

[katamari]

It sounds to me like they might be too narrow. I waver between a narrow and regular width and I always get the toe cramping/pinching when I wear pointy-toe narrow. After I switched to only buying regular width in pointy-toed heels, it got a lot better. But, heels are always uncomfortable, in my opinion. I just hate that they are so dang sleek.