Calf Stretching

OK, you’re medical researcher at, say, the Institute for Biomedical Research into Human Movement and Health, Manchester Metropolitan University or even at the Department of Sports Medicine and Training Science, University of Vienna, maybe even a professor of physiology or a researcher in the field. And you are like totally bored! So what could have you staring at shapely gams (legs for those too young to know) on shapely damsels and get paid for it, maybe move that career a notch forward as journalists worldwide are fascinated by your report? Hmmm… legs. High heels. Study legs. Yeah! Would somebody pay me for that? Hmmm… yeah!

What – I say what – would be better than checking out the impact of wearing high heels on the women who love them? Oh, that’s good. “From a group of 80 volunteers ages 20 to 50 who had worn two-inch or higher heels five times a week for at least two years, the researchers selected 11 who felt discomfort in their calves after taking off the shoes. Researchers did not assess physical activity level or heel thickness. A control group included nine women of comparable age, height and mass who wore flats regularly.” Washington Post (August 31^st). Ooooh, and the supervising researchers (R. Csapo, C. N. Maganaris, O. R. Seynnes and M. V. Narici) got paid for this. Woo hoo!

Their report, reprinted in the Journal of Experimental Biology (July 16, 2010) ends with: “We conclude that long-term use of high-heeled shoes induces shortening of the GM [gastrocnemius medialis] muscle fascicles and increases AT [Achilles' tendon] stiffness, reducing the ankle's active range of motion. Functionally, these two phenomena seem to counteract each other since no significant differences in static or dynamic torques were observed.” Huh?

Let the Post translate: “With magnetic resonance imaging, researchers noted that those in both groups had calf muscles of similar size but different shape. Assuming this was due to fiber lengths, the researchers used ultrasound to confirm their hypothesis: Individual muscle fibers shortened with high-heel wear… Then the researchers measured how muscles contracted and performed using a dynamometer, a device that measures force, torque, power and velocity. Shortened fibers would suggest a high-heel wearer's calf muscles would produce less force than a flat-shoe wearer, but muscles performed similarly in both groups… Curious, they used MRI and saw that the Achilles' tendon compensated for muscle fiber length. The tendon was significantly thicker and stiffer in high-heel wearers.”

“If women insist on wearing heels, [researcher – Italian clearly! – Professor Marco] Narici said, shortened fibers and thick, stiff tendons are inevitable. Narici suspects these adaptations may have an impact on athletic performance, though they do not appear to hinder everyday movements… ‘You can't run at the same level as a person who doesn't wear high heels,’ he said. ‘If the tendon becomes stiffer and the muscle fibers become shorter, the ability to store and release elastic energy is problematic.’”

So women who wear high heels, listen up! Stretch fully at least twice a day! What would an Italian Professor of Physiology say? “‘Women enjoy wearing high heels,’ Narici added. ‘They look good. They feel good . . . we don't want to stop them from wearing high heels.’” The Post. You go, Marco, you rock!

I’m Peter Dekom, and I don’t want to be a heel for introducing another form of march madness!