Time to Heel: Knee Osteoarthritis in Women

Why do twice as many women have arthritic knees than men? Harvard researchers think – "It's gotta' be the shoes."

PM&R physician D. Casey Kerrigan, MD, wanted to see if high heels played any part in the higher incidence of knee osteoarthritis in women. Kerrigan is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and director, Center for Rehabilitation Science, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. She found that women who wear 2 ½ inch heels strain the joints, muscles, and tendons in their knees. That increased pressure on the knees is believed to lead to osteoarthritis, a painful joint disease that destroys the cartilage surrounding the knee. PM&R physicians treat osteoarthritis and say that by the time some patients feel its effects, a lot of damage has already been done.

Think you're saving yourself future pain by wearing "chunky" high heels instead of stilettos? Think again. Kerrigan and her research team recently went back into the lab to see if the width of the heel makes any difference. They found that wide-heeled women's dress shoes caused the same, if not greater, pressures on the knees as narrow-heeled shoes.

And because these shoes are more comfortable than stilettos, women tend to wear them longer, exposing their knees to even more strain.

Dr. Kerrigan sums up her research with a statement that won't go over well on the runways of New York and Paris, "Heels are bad, whether they are thin or wide. My recommendation is simple and unpopular - don't wear them."