High Heels That Don’t Hurt

Whoever said “beauty is pain” wasn’t kidding; high heels hurt. As cute as those new pair of pumps are, you can’t always justify wearing them if you know your feet will be hurting in an hour. As a doctor of physical therapy, Dr. Geoffrey Alan Gray knows the sacrifice some women will make to wear their shoes.

“Years of treating numerous aching feet and making thousands of orthotics led me to the conclusion that women are simply not meant to wear high-heeled shoes,” Gray said in a press release. “But women also shouldn’t have to choose between wearing the stylish high-heel stilettos or wedges and having their feet suffer, or going for a less-fashionable, but more comfortable look.”

From File
Talus Heelbeds, black
Seeing a need in the market, Gray founded Santa Barbara-based Heeluxe, LLC, in 2009, designing fashionable inserts for high-heel shoes. Released last month, the Talus Heelbeds are a high-heel insert designed to shift body weight off the ball of the feet, relieving pressure that would cause pain in the heels, knees, and back.

“Talus Heelbeds work with natural heel movement to create support that will allow women everywhere to wear their heels all day and all night — without pain,” Gray stated.

The talus bone, the heelbed’s namesake, forms the lower part of the ankle joint and transmits the weight of the body to the foot. Pain is usually caused by forcing feet into a forward slanted position, which isn’t natural and shifts body weight to the ball and arch of the foot. According to Gray, this can cause damage to these areas of the foot. The heelbeds are designed to stop feet from sliding forward in the shoe, preventing pain, and angles the heel without the need for arch support.

The Talus Heelbeds are available at the Heeluxe Web site, and at several Northern California boutique stores. Currently offering the inserts in black and red, Gray hopes to eventually expand the line with additional patterns and colors.