High Heel Legs Servicing Article

Women’s Self Leg Maintenance using Light Manual Muscle RelaxationMichael Gillan Endurance Recovery SpecialistCopyright 2009 Michael Gillan Endurance Recovery Specialist 1http://womensweb.aching-legs-relief.com/high_heels_leg_servicing.html

High Heels and their long term effects on lower leg damage

Being a mere male I can only admire the way high heels can make young a woman’s legs so attractive and shapely-but being a maleMasseur and having their elder sisters as clients and working on their legs and feet I have seen the long term damage they can doThis adherence to fashion and attractive legs can result in badly deformed feet, corns, bunions, hip, lower back problems, lower legcirculation problems leading to varicose veins, swollen ankles, upper body, neck and shoulder problems and whatever else that can beapplied to the body being constantly off balance and under stress from high heelsThere is information around from the various authorities such as chiropractors. podiatrists, chiropodists, physical therapists, surgeonsEtc. about all of this so I am not going to add to them as this has been well covered, and I know that if a woman is addicted to herhigh heels nothing anyone else says is going to change her mind

http://shoes.about.com/od/womens_shoes/a/high_heels_love.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5235630.stm http://www.footphysicians.com/news/womens-feet.htm

Apart from this, if she has been wearing them for a long time, much of the damage has been done-the calf muscles will be tight andshort, making it impossible to go back to low heels and walk without suffering from calf muscle pain and damage from musclefibers ripping-to fix this would require an intensive muscle stretching regime to lengthen the muscles or surgery

How can shortened muscles affect the lower leg circulation?

Muscle flexibility is important for a number of reasons-it helps with mobility, ease of movement, less stress on the skeletal system,and allows the muscles to work at helping the circulation by the muscles putting pressure on and off the veins to pump used blood andfluid back up to the body for renourishment with oxygen and other needed nutrients before being recycled back to the muscles againthrough the arteriesThe calf muscles are the motors for a pumping system in the lower legs called the Calf Muscle Pump

The calf muscle pump-what is it?

The calf muscle pump is a pumping system made up of the calf muscles and is a way the body provides for moving used bloodagainst gravity back up the legs and feet to the body so it can be renourished and recycled againTo keep the circulation in balance as much fluid has to come out of the legs as goes into them-when the muscles are flexible, theywork very well usually-but when theyare affected by high heels, the muscles can tighten and lose flexibilityThe veins and arteries also tend to lose their elasticity and ability to allow the free flow of blood through them-poor circulation can bea side effect of shortened muscles and so keeping the circulation going can be a major problem

Women’s Self Leg Maintenance using Light Manual Muscle RelaxationMichael Gillan Endurance Recovery SpecialistCopyright 2009 Michael Gillan Endurance Recovery Specialist 2http://womensweb.aching-legs-relief.com/high_heels_leg_servicing.html It is made up of all the muscles in the legs but the main power to work it comes from the calf muscles which as we walk and movecompresses the veins opening the one-way valves in the vessels letting fluid pass through them on its way back to the bodyThis system seems to be generally ignored by many people until there are problems with swollen legs, varicose veins, or many otherproblems which can affect general health (seewww.hazards.org/standing

)

Fresh legs-healthy calf circulation

To kept the lower leg circulation working and the calf muscles fresh, the muscles rely on having a constant supply of fresh blood tothe muscle tissues-it is sent to the lower legs under pressure through the arteries and ever decreasing in size vessels called arteriolesand even smaller capillaries while at the same time the pressure taking it there also decreasesBy the time the blood reaches the feet, all the pressure has been used, and there is none left to return the blood back up the legs to thebody against gravity again

Bloodpumped fromheart througharteries under

pressureReaches feetPressure runsout

Calf musclesact as pumpmotorsUsed blood ismoved up thelegs throughthe veinsOn return tobody blood isrenourishedand recycled

Women’s Self Leg Maintenance using Light Manual Muscle RelaxationMichael Gillan Endurance Recovery SpecialistCopyright 2009 Michael Gillan Endurance Recovery Specialist 3http://womensweb.aching-legs-relief.com/high_heels_leg_servicing.html

The Legs-the calf muscles part in fatigue

It is when the pump is not working properly through circumstances such as too much standing, walking, sitting, muscle tightness orsoreness through activities such as sport or occupation that gravity is allowed to take over and affect the legs ability to pump usedblood and by-products from the legs back to the body for recyclingAs the circulation starts to slow, there is less movement of fluids; as the used fluid remains trapped in the lower legs, it prevents thesupply of fresh oxygen filled blood to the muscle tissues, and as the muscles need a constant supply of oxygen, to maintain optimumperformance, the legs start to fatigue

Calf Muscle Fatigue

Inactivity of the calf muscles-this not only reduces activity further it reduces the benefits that may be gained from exercise when itdoes happen-it also reduces the ability of the legs to contribute to their own circulationBy not moving the legs, the pump does not work as well as it should-this disrupts the cycle and allows used blood to remain in thelower legs-as it its not being removed, water (lymph fluid) separates from it and fills the tissue spaces, as it is not being pumped awayquickly enough, the ankles swell

Calf MuscleFatiueTightcalf

muscles

PoorbloodeturnFreshbloodeduced