For all the energy we spend finding just the right shoe to match an outfit, you would think we'd spend a bit more time thinking of what's underneath all that leather.
Regrettably, most of us never think twice about our feet till they start to tucker out, which they unavoidably do if we dismiss them long enough.
We walk two to three miles just going around our daily business —not considering exercise. By the time we finally tuck our tired feet peacefully between the sheets we are likely to have put sufficient pressure on them to equal several times our body weight.
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Our feet afford us stability, just as a foundation steadies a building. Numerous foot problems cause no pain at all in the feet themselves, but trigger mysterious aches and pains elsewhere in the body. Misalignment of just one of the foot's 26 bones, for instance, or a strained muscle, tendon or ligament, might cause a problem in the hip, knee, shin or calf or even your back or neck.
Most foot abnormalities can be adjusted through modern technology and podiatry. Early spotting is likely to bring down the difficulty, pain and expense of treatment. Unfortunately, aside from the checkup we get at birth, most of us never see a podiatrist unless we are limping with pain.
The first routine visit to a podiatrist had better occur between the ages of two-and-a-half and three, when a child starts walking heel to toe. Thereafter, both children and adults should be checked by a podiatrist every few years and before initiating a new fitness program.
© 2011 Athena Goodlight
