Can 4-Inch-High Heels Be Comfortable?

Good Morning America—August 7, 2009   

Women across America face a daily battle over whether to choose the sexy, stylish shoes and have your feet suffer, or pick up a more practical pair of footwear with a significantly less attractive look.

“Women get into trouble when they decide they want to walk 20 or 30 blocks in a high heel,” said Rock Positano, DPM, MSc, MPH, director of the Non-Surgical Foot and Ankle Service at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

New technology could make those high heels comfortable to walk in: one shoemaker has said stylish shoes can feel as good as they look. Kenneth Cole has launched a new footwear brand geared at capturing the look without having feet pay the price.

“This particular shoe has done a very good job at actually supporting that middle part of the arch,” Positano said. “The second thing is that shock absorbing capability: they’ve also built something in the front of the foot to help absorb shock, particularly with the 10 to 20 thousand steps that a person will take a day.”

See the full video at abcnews.com.