What’s the number one cause of back pain? That depends on who you ask. Some people will tell you it’s bad posture, and others cite things such as sedentary jobs and lack of exercise. But very few mention the wrong pair of boots. If you’re in the cowboy boot fan club, you may panic, “can cowboy boots cause back pain?”
While most cowboy boots don’t cause back pain, studies have shown that boots with heels higher than 1.5 inches can affect foot alignment and ankle stability, leading to back pain.
Before we get into the specifics of cowboy boots and back pain, let’s address knee and back pain and how shoes factor into that equation.
What can cause Back or Knee pain?
If a person wearing cowboy boots experiences back or knee pain, it can be due to three possible reasons:
Heel Height
When you wear boots with high heels, then your center of gravity can be thrown off, and you risk spraining your ankles, knees, and back.
Use cowboy boots with a heel height of at most 1 to 1.5 inches. These distribute pressure evenly across the soles of your feet and ensure that they’re correctly balanced.
Shoe/Boot Fit
A major cause of back pain is wearing ill-fitting boots. If your boots are too tight or loose, you can bet that your feet are angry as hell at you, and they will make sure you feel every bit of their anger by shooting it up into your spine like a red hot poker.
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
The last reason you may have back and knee pain is that you have a prior health condition. When you’re suffering from an undiagnosed health problem, like extreme back pain, weak muscles, or muscular imbalance, all the shoes you wear will hurt your back and knees.
Benefits of Cowboy Boots
Cowboys are well known for their impeccable fashion sense, but there’s more to cowboy boots than meets the eye. Some of the health benefits associated with wearing them are:
Cowboy Boots Are Good For Tendons
Yes, cowboy boots are good for your tendons. The heels of the boots strengthen the Achilles tendons, but beware: the higher the heel, the greater the strain on your Achilles tendon and the greater the likelihood of your developing back pain.
Solid Foundation
Cowboy boots provide the comfort of a supportive base and the flexibility to move around with ease, thanks to their rigid design.
Are Cowboy Boots bad for your back?
When you wear high-heeled cowboy boots, you may not have any discomfort or pain in your back at first. But over time, your feet will grow tired and sore. This is because the heels force your body to maintain an unnatural posture while standing and walking and stress your spinal cord’s joints and discs, which can lead to severe back pain.
You don’t want back pain, do you? So wear only cowboy boots that are 1 to 1.5 inches high. Any heels higher than this will summon back pain.
Besides, boots that are too stiff can make your back ache. But since new cowboy boots tend to be quite stiff, you should break them in gradually if you don’t want to suffer needlessly.
Before you lace up your cowboy boots, be sure your doctor gives you the go-ahead. Being diagnosed with a bad back before wearing cowboy boots is like being told you’re about to die before stepping into a shark cage. It’s just not a good sign.
If you already have back pain but want to cure it, you can either get drugs from the pharmacy or insert specially designed insoles that provide extra support to the foot and relieve stress on lower back muscles in your cowboy boots.
Cowboy boots are made for practicality, not just for fashion. They protect the feet from calluses, thorn pricks, street water, mud, rocks, and other terrestrial hazards. The boots won’t cause your back pain if they’re used as they were meant to be: with a heel height of 1.5 inches or less.
Now that we’ve talked about cowboy boots and back pain, I thought I’d also share a little bit about the history and design of cowboy boots.
Cowboy Boots history and how that relates to back pain?
The first cowboy boots were manufactured by German bootmakers in Texas. Their heels were designed to fit snugly into a stirrup, allowing the rider to stay firmly in place while galloping on horseback.
Although they were not very comfortable to walk in, the discomfort of wearing them was balanced out by their usefulness while riding.
The modern cowboy boot, a relative of its traditional counterpart, was engineered with comfort in mind. The heel of the modern boot has been lowered and reshaped for maximum impact. So don’t be surprised if you leave behind your painful pair of cowboy boots for this new, more comfortable option.
Currently, cowboy boots have evolved from their original purpose as horse-riding gear to fashionable high heels worn by both genders. The boots are famous for their rugged durability, perfect for ranching and everyday use.
While the boots are proven to be safe, some people fear that they will be dangerous in the long run. But the truth is that most naysayers of cowboy boots probably focused more on satisfying fashion demands instead of maintaining their health. These guys wear cowboy boots with staggeringly high heels and then take to social media to complain when their backs and knees react.
Can cowboy boots cause back pain? Final Thoughts
So, are cowboy boots bad for your back or knees? Do you need to stay away from them because you are scared of visiting the hospital afterward?
As far as my research and a Health Consultant I spoke with are concerned, cowboy boots do not cause knee pain or discomfort. My own experience bears this out; in fact, I wear my cowboy boots almost daily and have never experienced any knee problems.