Are your boots damaging your health?

Ugg-style boots have been criticised for damaging women's feet due to the lack of support they provide...

Cheap imitation Ugg boots are crippling a generation of fashion victim women due to the lack of support they provide.

Podiatrists and chiropodists believe the boots, which are particularly popular among teenage girls and young women, are leading to a rise in the number of people suffering pains in their feet and knees.

Dr Ian Drysdale, head of the British College of Osteopathic Medicine, believes because the foot does not get the proper support on the inside, it will lead to more ankle, knee, hip and back problems.

‘These boots are not designed for outside wear. Just because something becomes a trend or fashionable doesn't mean it's good or right,' he said.

Mike O'Neill, a consultant podiatric surgeon, said: ‘As the foot slides around, you get wear and tear on the joints on the inside of the foot. The ankle is in the wrong position, the thigh bone also changes position, and you get an abnormal movement in the pelvis, which leads to back problems.' Ugg Australia, who make the designer version of the boots which cost from £150, told The Daily Mirror that their boots are ‘comfort' rather than ‘performance' footwear and consumers should be aware of imitations which lack reinforced heels or insoles in their boots.

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