Your feet deserve Proper Maintenance and Foot Care!

Like all parts of the body, also the foot is an amazingly ingenious device. Its construction is really complex: 26 bones, 33 joints, 106 ligaments, 19 foot muscles and 11 muscles in the lower leg. Not only is the foot sufficiently strong to carry the entire body for hours at a time, but it also enables us, through subtle movements, to walk and run up to 10,000 to 17,000 steps a day. During our lives our feet carry us between 65,000 and 115,000 miles.

You'd expect the foot to be a body part we are proud and caring of. But surveys show that's not the case. According to this survey, two-thirds of the population has a foot condition like blisters, bunions, calluses, fungus, sweaty feet, nail conditions, cold feet and cramps. These are conditions that do not seem too serious, but which can be very inconvenient and they better be avoided with proper foot care.

More difficult to solve are structural deficiencies in feet which cause pain, fatigue and mobility problems.  Flat-footedness being the most well-known deficiency. But also hollow-feet, heel spur, spreading-feet and hammer toes may cause much suffering.

Flat Feet – Affects other body parts as well

Flat-feet used to be the ideal excuse to avoid military draft. One presumed it would not be possible to walk or march properly when afflicted. Total nonsense of course, because not everyone suffers the same from their flat-feet.

• Flexible Flat-Feet – Your natural foot curve disappears when standing.

Most common type of flat-feet is the supple or flexible flat-foot, where the feet sag when standing upright, but still have a nice inner curve when lifted, the so-called cross-bow. Flexible flat-feet are a normal variation of one's stature. These feet normally function well and do not have an adverse effect on other body parts like back, hips or knees.

• Rigid Flat-Feet – A healthy foot curve is simply never there

Rigid or stiff flat-feet, where there is no cross-bow when feet are lifted, give often rise to
complaints and pain. These are mostly bone or joint deficiencies from birth. Not only does this affliction hamper walking, but it also leads to extra stress in bones, joints and muscles involved with mobility elsewhere in our body.

Hollow Feet – High insteps and extreme hollowness

The opposite of flat-feet is hollow-feet, with an extreme hollow curve (lengthwise) in the foot and a very high instep. People with hollow-feet have tight foot-sole ligaments, claw-toes, a tight Achilles tendon and a tilted heel bone. With this condition the bodyweight often rests mostly on the forefoot, resulting in pain, irritations and inflammations. Hollow feet can also lead to knee-, groin- and/or neck pains. Or pain in between the shoulder blades. The solution is to wear customized insoles or orthopedic shoe ware to better distribute your body weight across your feet. Sometimes only surgery brings a solution.

Spread Feet – Sagged feet cause toe spread

With spread feet the forefoot is sagged to such an extent by weakened metatarsal bones that the toes are spread. Which can lead to calluses, bunions and pain under the 'bar' of the foot, but also to pain on top of the forefoot. solutions: well fitting shoes, not too tight(!), no high heels and with customized orthotics (insoles).

Hollow feet and spread feet are nasty conditions, because they can cause further conditions elsewhere in the body.  Like extra cartilage (a big painful bump) on the side of the foot: at the onset of the big toe. Here callus will grow and may result in a painful bunion. Furthermore Hollow feet and spread feet may lead to irritation and growth of the heel bone. When the attachment of the tendon to the heel inflammates then it's called heel spur. This heel pain may radiate all the way to the knee. Heel spur is a stubborn disease which can be cured mainly by resting. So no sporting, except swimming and biking. Also walking has to be minimized. Shoes with good shock absorption and a slightly raised heel (insole) can take off pressure from the heel and speed up curing. In certain cases heel spur is also treated with injections and surgery. And finally hollow-feet can cause permanent claw shaped toes. Also in this case customized insoles or orthopedic shoe ware can offer the solution.

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A Bunion is a bony protrusion on the outside of the big toe - Bunions are caused either by misaligned or excess bone-material. A bunion pushes your big toe inward, toward your second toe. (1-4)
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A Knee Support - Acts as a stabilizer, as a heat element and a knee support relieves stress.
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Please note: The info on this site does not constitute the practice of medicine. We just offer it to you as educational info. If you have a medical problem, be sure to visit your doctor.