While women have been making a fashion statement in high heels
for years -- wearing trendy stilettos, wedges, pumps and kitten
heels -- there's reason for concern about what those heels may
be doing to their knees and joints over time. A new study by an
Iowa State University kinesiology master's student has found
that prolonged wearing of and walking in heels can contribute to
joint degeneration and knee osteoarthritis. Danielle Barkema,
the ISU student who is originally from Cedar Falls, recently
completed her thesis research studying the effects of high-
heeled walking on forces acting on lower extremity joints.
Kinesiology professor and department head Phil Martin assisted
her in the study, which will be presented, in part, at the
annual meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics (ASB),
Aug. 18-21, at Brown University in Providence, R.I. "Obviously
with research like this, you can't say with any certainty that
if you wear high heels regularly you will develop
osteoarthritis. We don't know that," Barkem