Women who wear high-heel shoes may be avoiding painful knee conditions in later life, University of Warwick researchers said.
Fears that spine-bending stilettos could lead to knee arthritis are unfounded, according to academics who say three-inch heels are associated with reduced risks of joint problems.
Professor Margaret Thorogood from the Medical School said certain shoes did not cause knee problems but that being overweight before 40, doing demanding physical work and previous knee injuries all did.
The academic said there was a link between regular dancing in three-inch heels and a reduced risk of knee problems.
Professor Thorogood said: "Women who smoke, are overweight and do a lot of heavy housework such as scrubbing are more likely to develop painful knees later in life.
"But women who wear stiletto heels will be reassured to learn that their choice of fashion-before-comfort footwear will not lead to knee joint problems and may even prevent them."
The medical community previously thought that one reason why women were twice as likely to develop knee osteoarthritis than men may have been because of high-heels.
But results show that 55.2 per cent of the women with knee arthritis regularly wore 3in heels, compared to 67.1 per cent of women with no pain.
More than 100 women aged 50 to 70 participated in the study which was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
