It's already common knowledge that high heels could lead to foot ailments including bunions and blisters as well as the greater risk of twisted ankles; however, in ground breaking new research they have looked into the possible physiological affects of wearing high heels. Worryingly, the research revealed that just by wearing high heels on a regular basis for two years, women could be detrimentally affecting the way they are walking.

The negative impacts of wearing heels have continually been aired but many women have continued to wear heels feeling that the positive attributes outweigh these negative ones. High heels have been found to increase a woman's confidence creating the illusion of slimmer calves and a more confident style. Nevertheless, with these continued health warnings, and these possible physiological affects, is it time women start taking note of what they're wearing on their feet.

When a woman's foot is placed within a high heeled shoe, the foot is made to take on what is called a 'plantarflexed' position, with the toes pointing downwards, which has been found by researchers to potentially damage the leg muscles leading to a change in the way they walk. This change can occur when a woman wears heels on a regular basis, but a woman may not notice this change, but it could be happening, and for the worse.

Conducted at The Griffith University in Queensland, the research observed two groups of women; one was a control group who didn't wear heels on a regular basis and the other a group of women who were regular wearers of high heels. All the women were aged between late teens and early 30's.

The observations involved the women walking down a 26-foot long runway without their shoes on, with underfloor sensors monitoring where the forces of the women's feet were being placed, alongside just how well muscles and joints were performing.

The results were published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, and according to the research shorter calf muscles could be an ailment that many women are suffering from, which would include celebrities such as Victoria Beckham who is rarely seen without heels on.

Those women who were in the group of regular high heel wearers had worn heels of 2 inches or more for over 40 hours a week for 2 years prior to the test being conducted, and the difference in walks to the control group was noted as follows:

• Flat Shoe Wearers – these were found to be using their tendons to walk, allowing them to take longer strides, showing that they weren't overusing their calf muscles.

• High Heel Wearers – these were taking shorter strides, giving their walk a more aggressive appearance because they were overusing their calf muscles.

Speaking to The New York Times, the researchers commented that they weren't overly surprised by the results, concluding that if women were wearing heels on such a regular basis for over 2 years this was bound to have a detrimental affect, with the risk of fatigue and strain on the muscles increasing all the time.

Leader of the research, Dr Cronin also added that if these shortened muscles have occurred, additional care is essential to ensure that no strain is placed on these tendons when women exercise as this could lead to further injuries. He also recommended that in order to prevent such an extent of these shortened muscles, women should take a break from wearing heels, with the recommended wear of just once or twice a week.