An elegant pair of heels can seem the perfect way to complete a smart outfit.
一雙優雅的高跟鞋能為一身時髦的衣著錦上添花。

But women who wear them too often may find the downsides soon outweigh the benefits – as research shows they can cause a potentially harmful imbalance in the feet.
但女性過多穿高跟鞋也許弊大于利。研究表明，高跟鞋會導致足部肌肉失衡，而這種失衡有潛在危害性。

Scientists examined the effect of the footwear on women who don high heels regularly for work.
科學家們研究了那些日常工作穿高跟鞋的女性受到的影響。

They found that despite initially strengthening important muscles around the ankle, after three years the shoes led to some muscles becoming dominant – increasing the risk of sprains.
他們發現，盡管一開始高跟鞋使腳踝周圍重要的肌肉變得強壯， 但3年后，它們會導致一些肌肉過于強健，無形中增加了扭傷的風險。

‘As high heels are in fashion and sometimes required for certain professions, many women may be unaware of the extent to which [the shoes] may be weakening their dynamic balance,' said Dr Yong-Seok Jee, from Hanseo University in South Korea.
韓國韓瑞大學的季永頌博士說：“穿高跟鞋是一種時尚，有時候穿高跟鞋也是出于職業要求，許多女性也許沒有察覺到穿高跟鞋會一定程度上削弱她們的動態平衡?！?/p>

‘Eventually, major accidents such as falls and serious ankle sprains can result without proper maintenance and conditioning.'
“最終，在缺乏適當保養和調節情況下，摔倒和嚴重的腳踝扭傷等一類的嚴重狀況都有可能發生。”

Dr Jee's team studied 40 professional women who wear heels of10cmor higher at least three times a week.
季博士的小組研究了40名職業女性，她們一周至少穿三次鞋跟在10厘米或以上的高跟鞋。

They regularly measured the women's ankle strength, and found that two of the four main muscles started becoming dominant after between one and three years of regular wear.
他們定期測量這些女性的腳踝強度，發現在常穿高跟鞋1到3年不等的情況下，四塊主要肌肉的兩塊開始變得凸出。

They told the International Journal of Clinical Practice: ‘These results suggest that wearing high heels may strengthen ankle muscles at first, but prolonged use [of more than three years] eventually causes a muscular imbalance – a crucial predictor of ankle injury.'
他們對《國際臨床實踐雜志》表示：“這些結果表明，穿高跟鞋可能最初會使踝關節的肌肉變得強壯，但長期穿高跟鞋（超過3年）最終會導致肌平衡失調，而失調可能會引起踝關節損傷?！?/p>

Deformed feet, back pain and unhealthy walking patterns can all result from wearing heels, Dr Jee added, so it is important for women to take what he describes as ‘preventative measures'.
季博士補充道，足部畸形，背部疼痛和不健康的行走方式均是穿高跟鞋導致的惡果。所以很重要的一點是，女性要采取他所描述的“預防措施”。

As well as limiting how often the shoes are worn, Dr Jee recommends ankle-strengthening exercises such as deliberately walking on the heel of the foot with the ball raised, or tapping toes.
在限制穿高跟鞋頻率的同時，季博士推薦加強踝關節的練習，比如故意用腳跟走路，把腳趾部分抬起來，也就是足尖點地那樣的方式。

Toe tapping involves sitting in a seat with bare feet on the ground and simply lifting the front of the foot, keeping the heel in place.
足尖點地，是指我們坐在椅子上，光腳平落地上，抬起前腳掌，腳跟固定不動。

‘It is clinically important for wearers of heels to regularly perform [these] exercises,' Dr Jee said.
季博士說：“從臨床方面來講，穿高跟鞋的人有規律地進行這些練習十分重要。”

The damage done by high heels is not only muscular – it can also be cosmetic.
穿高跟鞋不僅對肌肉帶來危害，還會影響美觀。

Celebrities' feet can often end up looking less than glamorous after years of wearing uncomfortable – but stylish – shoes.
在多年穿著時尚但不舒服的鞋子以后，名人們的腳看起來通常不如以前美觀。

The normally elegant Samantha Cameron proved the point during the election campaign in April, when she kicked off her loafers to reveal a patch of worn skin and bony lumps on her big toes.
平常典雅大方的薩曼莎·卡梅倫在四月份的英國大選活動中證明了這一點。當她踢掉穿著的樂福鞋時，露出來的是磨損的皮膚和腳趾上突出的大骨節。

Podiatrist Michael Ratcliffe said at the time the lumps appeared to have been caused by years of irritation, and were ‘generally the result of wearing high heels'.
足病醫生邁克爾·拉特克利夫表示，鼓出來的包塊似乎是因為持續數年的發炎造成的，“通常是由穿高跟鞋引起的”。（英文來源：英國《每日郵報》）

Vocabulary:

don: 穿上

sprain: 扭傷

prolonged: 長期的

tapping toes: 腳尖點地

（譯者：梁倩SCNU，編輯 Helen）