It had been one of those long tiring days that I could not wait to be over. Running from one end of town to the other attending meetings, completing errands and stopping briefly to grab a cup of coffee to keep my motivation high, I kicked myself for the umpteenth time for choosing to wear high-heeled boots to work that day. In the morning when I had made the decision, it seemed like the perfect stylish compliment to my choice of knee length pencil skirt. Halfway through my day, struggling to stay upright as I slid and crunched through the icy sidewalks, I was already cursing the fashion gods who came up with the idea of heels and who had forced me to subject my feet to such awful torture.
As I dragged myself through my doorway and collapsed on my coach around 8 p.m., I gingerly pulled off my boots, letting out a big sigh of relief. My feet all red and sore glared back at me; signs of a new ‘corn’ already visible. Too tired to do any meaningful work, I decided to soak my feet and browse the net for ‘corn treatment’. Having paid no attention to them in the past, what I learnt was interesting and definitely a feet saver:
Facts about our feet
About 1 out of 4 of all bones in the human body is located in the feet. It takes 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles to get your feet to work (now isn’t that just amazing?). Given the number of bones in our feet, it is understandable that when any of these are out of alignment, it can easily affect the stability of the rest of our body. Also, feet doctors (called podiatrists) believe that our feet provide a very good mirror into our general health and might be the first warning signs of sicknesses such as diabetes, arthritis and both nerve and circulatory disorder. Interestingly, 3 out of 4 people who live in America have foot problems at least once in their lifetime and women are four times more likely to experience foot problems than men. The main causes? Wearing ill-fitting shoes, high heels and not paying any attention to our feet.
Common foot problems
Bunions ( Hallux Valgus)
Now every woman must have had one of these painful pumps at one point in her life. Although caused by several factors, the most common reason these jutting painful pumps typically occur are from wearing tight, narrow, ill-fitting foot wear. Some podiatrists argue, however, that tight shoes only worsen or speed up the formation of bunions but do not actually cause them. The real culprit, they suggest, is a progressive disorder more common in women that causes changes in the bones in the big toe. The gradual bony changes, encouraged by the types of shoes worn, causes the big toe to lean inwards towards the second toe instead of pointing straight, leading to a bony bump. As such, bunions tend to form mostly along the side of the big toe as indicated in the picture above.
Arch Strain/Pain
The arch of the foot is the slight curvature that most people have at the bottom of their feet. The shape is maintained by several strong ligaments and tendons which are important for allowing the feet to support the weight of the body and maintain an erect posture. A percentage of the general population has ‘flat feet’ which refers to an absence or loss of the arch. Although painless and generally harmless, people with flat feet can develop foot, ankle and knee problems. However, arch strain can occur in all people regardless of the degree of curvature present in their feet. The most common cause of arch strain is inflammation or injury of one of the main ligaments (plantar fascia) that runs from the heel to the forefoot. Excessive stretching or pronation of the ligament leads to minor injury resulting in pain when walking. Usually, the pain is worse in the morning when one gets out of bed or after a long period of rest.
Calluses/Corns
Calluses that happen on the foot are very similar to those that occur in the palms for instance after carrying heavy weights or using the hands for extraneous jobs such as chopping wood or pounding fufu. It is due to thickening of the skin as a means of the body protecting itself from increased pressure applied to a region. Apart from the unaesthetic nature of calluses, they also can cause problems when they evolve into sores/ulcers due to frequent friction from tight uncomfortable footwear. Corns are a type of callus that typically forms a cone shape on the side of the little toe or on the upper surface of the other toes. Calluses on the other hand are usually flat, broad and like to form on the bottom of the feet (the ball-of the foot), the heels and the inside of the big toe. The main causes of both calluses and corns are tight small shoes, high heeled dress shoes, flat feet, bony prominences, obesity and loss of the fat pad at the bottom of the foot.
Heel Fissures
Ever had dry, cracked, flaky skin along your heels? This can be caused by lack of daily moisturizing of the feet, walking consistently barefoot, prolonged standing, wearing open backed shoes/sandals regularly or being overweight Although mostly thought of as a common cosmetic problem, heel fissures can sometimes run deeper leading to bleeding and serious infections especially in people with weak immune systems or diabetes.
Tips on general foot care
First I highly recommend that you visit the website www.foot.com which contains tons of information concerning foot pain, injuries, treatment and recommendations on appropriate footwear. It is also important to remember a point I raised earlier: our feet are a central part of our bodies and when not taken care of they can cause problems in other areas that we consider vital. Just as poets describe the eyes as the mirror into a person’s soul, the feet offer a look into the general health of our entire bodies. That should make them worth a little more of our attention than we normally pay them. I hope it was also clear as we walked briefly through some of the common foot problems above that our choice of shoes is critical to the health of our feet.
High heels although amazing for a woman’s figure and look, should be chosen wisely and worn only as needed. When picking shoes take time to not only find the latest cutest pair, but also ones that fit well with enough wiggle room for your toes.
Doctors believe that some people have different foot sizes. When buying shoes, these folks should always go for a pair that fit the bigger foot instead of the smaller one. This means trying on both pairs of shoes at the store instead of delegating only one foot as the tester (which I am definitely guilty of). If you have to or insist on wearing heels all year round, focus on finding comfortable well-fitting shoes. Make sure your feet do not slip forward in the shoes since this causes extra strain on the arch of your foot and eventually on your back. It is also advisable to walk in the heels on both carpet and bare-floors before purchasing them so that you have an idea of how comfortable they will be on different floor surfaces. Another good tip when shoe shopping is to always hit the stores later in the day when your feet tend to be their largest.
It is also important to inspect your feet regularly and not ignore any foot pain, especially if your have diabetes or are overweight. Treat cracks with daily moisturizing and if running deep, follow appropriate basic wound treatment in order to prevent infections. Avoid performing home foot surgeries such as removal of corns and excessive scraping of calluses since this can also lead to infections or bleeding. Usually these resolve by themselves, but if they fail to do so, talk to your doctor for treatment recommendations. Trimming nails regularly is also highly recommended but make sure not to cut the corners down too much since this could lead to in growing of toenails.
My feet are still recovering from the ordeal I put them through a couple of days ago. Although it has been difficult to give up my stylish heels, I have slowly come to the realization that I owe this to my feet and to my general well-being. So as spring dawns on us I have chosen to revert to my four-in-heels – of course, each carefully picked out to keep my feet very happy.
Resources
1) Foot Health Network: http://www.foot.com
2) American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons: http://www.acfas.org/press/backgrounders/women.htm