Shoes to Help Limit Back Pain

High-heeled shoes and shoes that crowd the feet or have no arch support often create back pain. This occurs as the shoes shift the three curves of the spine into a non-neutral position, creating compression (and pain) in the upper or lower back.

Pain is less likely to occur if you're wearing clogs, shoes designed with a lower heel and supportive archbed, and shoes with a heel less than 2 inches tall.

Flip-flop sandals are often non-supportive and can flatten arches, which can create back pain in some people.

Architecture of the Spine

• There are three natural curves in your spine: the neck has seven vertebrae in the cervical spine; the upper mid-thoraic is generally least flexible; and the lower back is the site of most pain complaints.

  Wearing supportive shoes is part of a back pain-reducing regimen that includes regular exercise and therapeutic stretching.

What's Wrong With High Heels?

• Tip-toeing in 3-inch heels places a strain on the low back and neck. Your pelvis is placed in an anterior pelvic tilt to create an exaggerated curve in the low back, creating compression on L-5 (fifth vertebrae of the lumbar spine) and S-1 (first vertebrae of the sacrum).

  The muscles are also placed under strain: the Achilles tendon is shortened, as is the plantar fascia on the soles of the feet.

  Crowding the feet into a small shoebox of high-heeled shoes can create bunions or hammer toes where two or more toes overlap.

  Over time, this can hamper digestion, elimination and create Dowager's Hump, a hunchback in the thoracic spine.

Shoes to Reduce Back Pain

• Clogs are worn by chefs and others who stand on their feet much of the day. Often featuring a wooden sole, clogs provide an ergonomic archbed that supports the foot and keeps the three spinal curves intact.

  Shoes designed with a supportive archbed that allows the toes to lie side by side without overlapping also are likely to reduce back pain.

  Last, there are many commercial brands that cater to women who want fashionable shoes that do not cripple the feet or create back pain.