High Heels and Pumps

I started a discussion thread at our running club Yahoo! Group (not the Barefoot Running Yahoo! Group). I linked this article. The article explains how the foot is designed to bear weight, and how the use of shoes and running shoes force a change in weight bearing because of faulty design (i.e. curved last, elevated heel & restrictive toe-box). It has a great discussion on how "normal" gait is defined as normal simply because of the faulty design of footwear. And that is why many people sustain injury from the foot on up to the back. It also is nice to read an informed article that says, "An orthotic may rebalance the foot, but that same rebalanced foot automatically becomes unbalanced when it is in the shoe."

The ensuing discussion focused on the difference between high-heels and pumps, rather than on running shoe design. Darn, I usually hate when things go off on unexpected tangents.... But not this time. Because of course the Internet had the answer!

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source pump ² (pŭmp) Pronunciation Key n. A woman's shoe that has medium or high heels and no fastenings.

and

Anwers.com, about High Heels - here is a snip (but visit the link for a great pic ;) ----->>>>

High-heeled shoes are shoes which raise the heel of the wearer's foot toes. When both the heel and the toes are raised equal amounts, as in a platform shoe , it is generally not considered to be a "high-heel." This tends to give the illusion of longer and more sleder legs. High-heels come in a wide variety of styles, and the heels are found in many different shapes, including stiletto, block, tapered, blade, and wedge. significantly higher than the

While high heels today are mostly associated with female shoe styles, and the term high heeled shoe is generally understood to mean styles of spike-heeled footwear almost exclusively worn by women, there are numerous shoe designs worn by both genders which have elevated heels, including cowboy boots and cuban heels. According to high fashion shoe websites like Jimmy Choo and Gucci, a "low heel" is considered less than 2.5", while 2.5" to 3.5" heels are considered "mid heels," and anything over 3.5" is considered a "high heel" ^{[citation needed]}.