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" Stiletto, wedge, block \u2013 whatever style of high heel you choose, it could be damaging more than just your feet according to a leading voice and communication coach. Helen Sewell told MPs yesterday that wearing high heels at work could put them at risk of physical harm. In particular, she said wearing heels all day means you run the risk of faster, shallow breathing and damage to vocal cords.  Why so? Helen suggests that having to speak while wearing high heels makes someone &amp;quot;think less clearly by adversely affecting your breathing pattern [and] prevents you from projecting your voice properly, forcing you to compensate in ways which risk causing vocal cord damage.&amp;quot; She adds that heel wearers are less able to project an &amp;quot;executive presence&amp;quot; because more focus is put on balance and maintaining unnatural posture. Furthermore, in written evidence presented early this month, the vocal coach said:  &amp;quot;Any employer that requires women to wear high heels in the workplace (but does not require men to do so) is acting in a discriminatory manner because of the negative effects that high heels cause.&amp;quot;  The row sparked a petition (currently with over 150,000 signatures) that aims to make it illegal for a company to require women to wear high heels at work. A lot woman may choose to wear high heels, but the fact that many women are left without the choice, and could be risking their health as a result, is baffling.  We asked Michael Ratcliffe, Podiatrist at Carnation Footcare for his thoughts about high heels and vocal cords:  &amp;quot;It appears to me that, while posture in general can affect diaphragmatic breathing and voice projection, each individual is affected in a different way by wearing different heel heights. Whilst there are many (strong) opinions on this subject, I was not able to find specific scientific research on the effects of high heeled footwear (or differing heel heights) on vocal cord health and/or the concept of &amp;#039;executive presence&amp;#039;.&amp;quot;  He adds:  &amp;quot;I think that an evidence based approach is required to address this issue incorporating clinical/experiencial evidence and quantitative and qualitative experimental evidence to arrive at a fully informed decision. Until then, I think we can only claim a potential association between differing heel heights and vocal cord damage and the projection of &amp;#039;executive presence&amp;#039; rather than any actual causality.&amp;quot;   If you choose to wear heels at work or are working for one of the companies that require women to wear them, avoid wearing a high heeled shoe for long periods of time and bring a pair of comfortable flats alongside \u2013 perhaps for your commute or at lunch. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a26770/health-effects-of-wearing-high-heels-harming-your-vocal-cords/>