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CNN Live At Daybreak
Toes in High Heels
Aired October 02, 2003 - 06:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now a topic that's very close to my heart, toes in high heels. Are these not the most awesome shoes?
DR. SANDRA FRYHOFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're good looking.
COSTELLO: Dr. Sandy, they're good looking shoes. Of course, I hear all the time that these can create problems with my back and my knees and my feet.
FRYHOFER: But they look good.
COSTELLO: They look fantastic. I bow to them. But, anyway, give us the scoop on high heeled shoes. Are they really as dangerous for women as they say?
FRYHOFER: Well, the good news is you don't have to worry about high heels causing arthritic knees. And that's good news because arthritis of the knee can cause pain that's debilitating and sometimes crippling. For older people, it's twice as common in women as in men, and this had researchers wondering if wearing high heels could be to blame.
But that's not what they found. This small study in the "Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health" looked at 111 women between age 50 and 70 and found that it's not the heels, no matter how often they wore them or how high those heels were. They did find several other factors that increased the risk of knee arthritis, including previous knee injury, heaving smoking, arthritis of the feet and being overweight.
In fact, being overweight, particularly between age 36 and 40, increased the risk of developing arthritis of the knee by a factor of 36. So, gaining too much weight before age 40 is the real culprit.
COSTELLO: Oh, and it's not the heels. So, can you take medication to ward off these things?
FRYHOFER: What you want to do is really try to prevent it in the first place and keep getting your weight under control is the most important thing you can do. The American College of Physicians says that a drop in BMI, that's body mass index, of just two units over 10 years can decrease the odds of developing knee arthritis more than 50 percent.
COSTELLO: Wow.
FRYHOFER: And this is only about 15 pounds. I mean everyone can do this. Another new study in the "British Journal of Sports Medicine" found that being physical active as a young child can stave off knee arthritis later in life and it seems that exercise not only increases bone density by stimulating new bone formation, it also promotes healthy growth of cartilage, which is that firm rubbery tissue that cushions your joints.
COSTELLO: Interesting. But just because high heels don't cause problems with your knees, they could cause other problems, couldn't they?
FRYHOFER: Yes, and there are some things we can do, you know, to keep you from hurting. There are some medications. There's glucosamine chondrotin. These are dietary supplements that are derived from animal products and they seem to have anti-inflammatory properties.
COSTELLO: It just seems silly to take some medication just so you can wear high heels and not get hurt.
FRYHOFER: Oh, oh, no. They actually help with the pain. They also keep the joint from -- space from narrowing even more. And, of course, you can take some anti-inflammatory medications, as well.
But the good news, you can wear your high heels and not worry about getting knee arthritis...
COSTELLO: Arthritis in your knees...
FRYHOFER: But they can cause toe pain.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
FRYHOFER: Look at this beautiful triangular shaped toe box. It can increase the risk of getting toe pain, neuromas, hammer toes.
COSTELLO: And the dreaded corns.
FRYHOFER: But no arthritis in the knees. So wear them and look very good -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Fabulous.
Thank you, Dr. Sandy.
We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 2, 2003 - 06:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now a topic that's very close to my heart, toes in high heels. Are these not the most awesome shoes?
DR. SANDRA FRYHOFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're good looking.
COSTELLO: Dr. Sandy, they're good looking shoes. Of course, I hear all the time that these can create problems with my back and my knees and my feet.
FRYHOFER: But they look good.
COSTELLO: They look fantastic. I bow to them. But, anyway, give us the scoop on high heeled shoes. Are they really as dangerous for women as they say?
FRYHOFER: Well, the good news is you don't have to worry about high heels causing arthritic knees. And that's good news because arthritis of the knee can cause pain that's debilitating and sometimes crippling. For older people, it's twice as common in women as in men, and this had researchers wondering if wearing high heels could be to blame.
But that's not what they found. This small study in the "Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health" looked at 111 women between age 50 and 70 and found that it's not the heels, no matter how often they wore them or how high those heels were. They did find several other factors that increased the risk of knee arthritis, including previous knee injury, heaving smoking, arthritis of the feet and being overweight.
In fact, being overweight, particularly between age 36 and 40, increased the risk of developing arthritis of the knee by a factor of 36. So, gaining too much weight before age 40 is the real culprit.
COSTELLO: Oh, and it's not the heels. So, can you take medication to ward off these things?
FRYHOFER: What you want to do is really try to prevent it in the first place and keep getting your weight under control is the most important thing you can do. The American College of Physicians says that a drop in BMI, that's body mass index, of just two units over 10 years can decrease the odds of developing knee arthritis more than 50 percent.
COSTELLO: Wow.
FRYHOFER: And this is only about 15 pounds. I mean everyone can do this. Another new study in the "British Journal of Sports Medicine" found that being physical active as a young child can stave off knee arthritis later in life and it seems that exercise not only increases bone density by stimulating new bone formation, it also promotes healthy growth of cartilage, which is that firm rubbery tissue that cushions your joints.
COSTELLO: Interesting. But just because high heels don't cause problems with your knees, they could cause other problems, couldn't they?
FRYHOFER: Yes, and there are some things we can do, you know, to keep you from hurting. There are some medications. There's glucosamine chondrotin. These are dietary supplements that are derived from animal products and they seem to have anti-inflammatory properties.
COSTELLO: It just seems silly to take some medication just so you can wear high heels and not get hurt.
FRYHOFER: Oh, oh, no. They actually help with the pain. They also keep the joint from -- space from narrowing even more. And, of course, you can take some anti-inflammatory medications, as well.
But the good news, you can wear your high heels and not worry about getting knee arthritis...
COSTELLO: Arthritis in your knees...
FRYHOFER: But they can cause toe pain.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
FRYHOFER: Look at this beautiful triangular shaped toe box. It can increase the risk of getting toe pain, neuromas, hammer toes.
COSTELLO: And the dreaded corns.
FRYHOFER: But no arthritis in the knees. So wear them and look very good -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Fabulous.
Thank you, Dr. Sandy.
We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
