Doctor Warns People to ‘Stay Away’ From Platform Sandals

Pilar Barrada wears Pull & Bear shoes and coat and Bershka suit during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid Autumn/Winter 2019-20 at Ifema on January 24, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. Photo by Pablo Cuadra/Getty Images

Platform sandals, which were a trend in the 1990s, are now en vogue again, and they have triggered warnings from at least one medical professional.

Last week, shoe designer Steve Madden reintroduced its foam platform sandals for Urban Outfitters, and on Monday, model Suki Waterhouse uploaded a photo of herself on Instagram wearing 4-inch platform sandals by designer Simon Miller, The New York Post reported.

But one doctor said that these kinds of shoes are terrible for your ankles, feet, and overall posture.

“Definitely stay away from this one,” Dr. Hillary Brenner, who works in New York City’s financial district, told the Post about the sandals.

In her interview with the newspaper, she said that the platform sandals’ rigid soles can throw off your posture and gait, and could tweak your ankles or worse.

Shoes with flexible soles like tennis shoes can allow people to shift their weight while they walk.

Brenner warned of other possible consequences: “You’re not in proper alignment, so over time, that can add a lot of strain to your back,” The Sun reported.

Brenner said that it’s “nine times out of 10“ that parents who wear the platform sandals visit her office for a sprained ankle, according to the Post.

According to a 2009 article from the New York Times, about 25,000 ankle sprains take place each day in the United States.

Tricia Hubbard, an undergraduate athletic training director with the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, told the Times that if there is no treatment, about “30 to 40 percent of people with simple ankle sprains develop chronic long-term joint pathology.”

“Most research is showing that with any ankle sprain, the ankle should be immediately immobilized to protect the joint and allow the injured ligaments to heal,” Dr. Hubbard told the news outlet. “At least a week for the simplest sprain, 10 to 14 days for a moderate sprain and four to six weeks for more severe sprains.”

“Lack of pain is not always the best indicator that it’s safe to resume activity,” Hubbard explained, adding that the pain can “subside fairly quickly, but that does not mean the injured ligaments have healed.”

How to Walk on Platforms

One expert told Today.com that it’s all about posture when walking on high-heels or platform shoes.

“It is important that your posture is addressed in order to walk in your high heels correctly. My method includes the Alexander Technique, which re-educates the neuro-muscular system, so that the body returns to its natural state of perfect posture, perfect poise and balance,” Chyna Whyne, founder of the instructional program Walking in Stilettos, told the outlet.

Meanwhile, Dr. Suzanne Levine, a podiatrist at Institute Beaute in New York City, said that wearers need to exercise their inner core.

“To feel more stable in fabulous shoes, you need to have a fabulous core,” said Levine.