An expert explains exactly how heels are messing up our feet

However glorious wearing heels makes us feel, we can all admit they hurt our feet like hell.

While we might begin a night out with a ‘no pain no gain’ mentality, by the end we’re hobbling to get from our cab to our front door – and this is if we’re not pressured to wear them all day at work too.

So it’s barely surprising that they’re messing up our feet.

But how, precisely? We asked Highgate-based podiatrist Emma Lincoln to break it to us.

‘High heels can certainly damage the feet if worn daily and for long periods of time,’ she told metro.co.uk.

‘Pointy high heels will significantly increase the pressure on the balls of the feet and squeeze toes together.’

Yep, we’ve all dealt with this pain before. But the issue goes beyond that of just grinning and bearing it, as Emma says that it can lead to far more serious issues such as ‘nerve pain, corns and blisters’.

And the scariest-sounding consequence? ‘Damage to the foot structure’, including bunions – deformity of the base joint of the big toe – and hammer toes; a toe that’s bent permanently downwards.

Which she says can only be corrected with ‘surgical intervention’.

And for those of us that swear by a chunky, well structured heel, we were right – they are better for us, as Emma says that the shape of a shoe does make a big difference.

‘Wearing a very thin stiletto heel will increase the chances of ankle sprains and other soft tissue injuries, as well as alter your posture which can lead to knee and lower back pain,’ Emma explains.

‘Thicker and lower heels will make the foot more stable, and put less pressure on the ball of the foot.’

But if you insist on wearing heels Emma suggests at least inserting silicone pads onto them or wrapping silicone plasters around your heels and toes to reduce friction.

And, of course, always bring a pair of flats with you so that you can change into your heels at the last minute.

How to find the perfect pair of high heels that don't hurt your feet

A top podiatrist has revealed a three-step formula to find a pair of heels that won't leave you in agony.

Choosing the perfect shoe that won't give you blisters all comes down to the shape of your feet.

Consultant podiatrist Emma Supple says that some women are built to wear them skyscraper-high, while others will suffer after mere moments in the lowest of heights.

To work out which category you fit into, Emma says there's a three-step formula to calculate your perfect heel height (PHH) in a matter of minutes.

According to Emma, the measurement is based on the flexibility of a curved bone that connects the foot and the leg.

She told the Daily Mail: “If the talus tilts downwards when you are holding your leg out straight and relaxing your foot, then you have a lot of mobility and can wear high heels with ease.”

While this is good news for those with a flexible talus, other women just aren’t cut out for wearing them and there’s nothing they can do about it.

So how do you measure your PHH?

1) Take off your shoes, sit down and hold one leg straight out in front of you keeping your foot relaxed. If your foot sits at a right angle to your leg without dangling then you have less mobility and will be more comfortable in a pair of flats. However, if the top of your foot follows the line of your leg then you are a natural heel wearer.

2) You’ll need a friend for this next part. To find your ideal heel height, get someone to place a tape measure from your heel in a straight line on the floor, then place a pencil at the ball of your foot at right angles to the tape.

3) Wherever the tape measure hits the pencil reveals your PHH.

Thanks to this simple formula you can now feel a whole lot smarter about your footwear purchases, and wave goodbye to a multitude of high heel horrors.

Enforcing High Heels In The Office Is The Height Of Workplace Sexism

First impressions count, even for business. It’s why the reception of any building is usually the smartest part of the office. There will be brightly coloured flowers, comfortable sofas, free water and, more often than not, a pretty young woman ready to welcome you. They’ll be wearing a full face of make-up, the smartest clothes their salary will allow, and a beaming smile. They’ll know the name of everyone in the building but nobody will know theirs. They are the first thing any visitor knows about your company and the guardian of your secrets. They’re undervalued and underpaid. And no matter how good a job they do, the one thing you will judge them on is what they look like.

I know this because I spent a year welcoming guests, pouffing the cushions and answering the phone in my best cut glass accent for a finance company. At my annual appraisal they told me I’d done a great job and they were thrilled at the effort I was putting in, there was just one thing to be improved on. Could I possibly wear more lipstick?

This week Nicola Thorp was sent home from a receptionist job at PwC because she wasn’t wearing high heels. She’d been employed in a temporary role through an agency, Portico, whose dress code requires women to wear a two to four inch heeled shoe. Strangely enough there’s no such requirement for men. When Thorp turned up in flats, and declined to change into heels, she was sent home without pay. Thorp’s response to this was to set up a petition, which at the time of writing has garnered more than 30,000 signatures, to make it illegal for companies to require women to wear heels.

We know how you dress is no longer a signifier of success or importance, Steve Jobs’ dedication to jeans and trainers ended that, so why do we still feel it’s necessary to dictate the type of shoes that women wear? Yes, dress codes might ask men to wear ties and not apply this rule to women but there’s one clear difference here: unless your office takes its influences from Fifty Shades of Grey, there is nothing particularly sexual about a tie. High heels on the other hand, they’re designed to sexualise women. They lengthen our legs, change the way we walk and, whether we intend it or not, make us more attractive to both sexes.

When you’re a working woman there can be advantages to heels, particularly if you’re the shortest person in a room filled with tall men who want to literally talk over your head. They can elevate you, force you to throw your shoulders back and lift your head up, they can make you feel powerful. But that power comes from choice, when I walk around the office in a pair of shoes that risk my ankles it is my decision, and there is power in the freedom to make that decision. For some reason I don’t believe that Portico wants its female employees to feel empowered by their shoes, if they did they wouldn’t have minded so much when one of them pointed out the company’s blatantly sexist policy. So why is it so wedded to this outdated dress code?

Perhaps it’s because even now in 2016, nearly 100 years after women got the vote, 50 years since we were entitled to equal pay and more than 10 years since Sex and the City stopped trying to convince us that heels were independence in shoe form, what we really judge success on is the attractiveness of the woman attached to it. It’s not enough to have a professional, competent receptionist welcoming your guests, she also needs to be sexy. Because for some reason companies still seem to think that true success is coming through the door to a woman who is both beddable and biddable, the 1950s housewife brought into the office. And there’s nothing empowering about that, no matter what shoes you wear.