Wearing high heels costs millions

London: High heels eventually leave women down at the heel, a new study says.

Spindly stilettos and towering wedges walk you ultimately to the podiatrist's parade of bunions, corns, bent toes, trapped nerves and disfigured feet.

Those who foot the bill annually in Britain alone add up to a few thousands, but the bills they foot are a bit high. Around £29 million (Dh189 million).

Private clinics

And mind you, free treatment through the National Health Service (NHS) means a lengthy waiting period. Private clinics are the only alternative for the impatient.

A study by shoe brand MBT claims nearly one in three foot operations on women are to straighten toes disfigured by ill-fitting shoes, mostly high heels. The cost of each such non-NHS procedure is about £1,200 (Dh7,820). If all patients opted for private treatment, these operations would cost a total of £10.4 million (Dh67.8 million) a year.

One in five feet operations are to remove bunions, which is a structural deformity of the bones and the joint between the foot and big toe.

Based on the average cost of private treatment of about £4,000 (Dh26,075), this equates to £10.5 million (Dh68.4 million) a year.

A further £3.3 million (Dh21.5 million) a year would be spent on big toe joint replacement, £2.9 million (Dh18.9 million) on operations for corns, £2 million (Dh13 million) to remove trapped nerves, and £200,000 (Dh1.3 million) to correct in-growing toe-nails, the study says.

Cosmetic surgery is also increasing in popularity with treatments including "plumping" in which a dermal filler is injected into the ball of the foot to make walking more comfortable.

The survey of 1,000 women aged 15 and above found those in Liverpool and Manchester were most likely to end up with foot injuries. Four in ten reported having an accident with their heels.