Killer Heels, Sarah Jessica Parker and Vanishing Veins

I have to admit that Sex and the City was one of my guilty pleasures. The adventures of Carrie and the girls were always fascinating.  Of course shoes were a big part of the experience. The Manolos, the Diors, the Louboutins were jaw-dropping.

So, imagine my surprise when I found out that all those beautiful skyscraper heels took their toll on Sarah Jessica Parker’s feet.  And now she doesn’t look so good in her signature footwear.

An article in the Daily News online [ http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/sjp-feel-jimmy-chewed-article-1.1703283 ]  shows recent pictures of her feet, calling them “Jimmy chewed up”. What happened?

The return of blood from your feet is always an uphill battle. Gravity conspires against you and if the blood doesn’t move up it causes the veins to swell.  When SJP wears very high heels it increases the vertical distance that the blood has to travel.

But, that’s not all. As background, it’s important to understand how blood is pumped from your feet.  The veins travel up through the calves.  The muscles in the back of your calves contract and relax as you walk.  The contractions knead the veins and act as a pump, pumping the blood up your leg.

But, when you wear very high heels you’re forced to walk on your toes.  When you walk in this fashion your calf is held in one position.  The muscles don’t contract and relax.  There is no pumping action.  Return of blood is impaired and it pools in your feet.

So, it’s no surprise that the erstwhile Carrie Bradshaw has dilated veins in her feet.  Taking off the heels and living a life in flats won’t take care of the problem.  Once you have them, you have them.  If they don’t bother her then there’s nothing that needs to be done.  Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and all that.  However, there can be accompanying symptoms such as itching, discoloration, eczema and swelling.  Those symptoms can indicate an underlying medical problem called Chronic Venous Insufficiency  [ http://www.vanishingveinsblog.com/2013/08/summer-sanders-vein-story-in-her-own.html#more ] and require further evaluation.

Can we take care of this at Vanishing Veins?  Funny you should ask.  Of course we can.  I won’t go through the details of treatment but you can find them on my website (www.vanishingveins.net).  Or, just give us a call at 860-761-6666.

– Dr. Greenwald