Have you ever had one of those weeks when it seemed like everything that can go wrong did go wrong? I had one of those recently, and it started with foot pain.
I don’t know what I did to it, but one morning my left foot was hurting. A couple of days later it was swollen, and I was hobbling around the house. I made an appointment with the doctor who made me get an x-ray. That’s the first day I felt a sore throat coming on.
I was told I might have a tiny fracture in my foot, so I had to go to the orthopedist. By the time my appointment day arrived, I had a horrible cold. My two boys were healthy, and they were just as energetic as ever. I don’t recommend to any mamas to hurt your foot and get a cold at the same time.
Through it all I felt grateful that these things would pass, and I also learned a few interesting things about our feet. We take our feet for granted, but they are quite remarkable if you think how much work they do for us each day.
According to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), the average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day. That adds up to about 115,000 miles during a lifetime, which is more than four times the circumference of the globe!
Our feet have 52 bones in them, which is about one quarter of all the bones in our body. Each foot has 33 joints, 107 ligaments, and 19 muscles and tendons. There are also 250,00 sweat glands in our feet, and they can excrete half a pint of moisture each day.
A recent study by the APMA found that “Americans view their feet as the least important body part in terms of their health and well-being.” However, people can experience foot pain more so than in the teeth or skin. In addition, the feet can be the first place to show symptoms of many serious medical problems, such as arthritis, diabetes, and nerve and circulatory disorders.
This same study by APMA revealed that 72% of Americans say they do not exercise because foot pain prevents them. In the same vein, children who do not wear properly fitting footwear tend to exercise less too. Another study by the APMA showed that obesity in children can increase the risk to foot injuries.
It all goes hand in hand: wear good fitting shoes, and maybe you’ll feel like moving around a bit more! In addition, you’ll be less likely to damage your feet. I spent many years thinking that how a shoe looked was more important than how it felt, which meant I didn’t always wear comfortable shoes. As I got older and wiser, I began buying better shoes, and now I can’t stand the thought of wearing high heels.
It’s especially important that children wear good fitting shoes. I have known people who have bought children’s shoes a size or two bigger because children grow so fast, but children’s feet need proper support while they are growing. My husband and I bought a child’s foot measurement scale, which we’ll be able to use until the boys are about 10 years old. This is helpful because sometimes it’s easier for one of us to go shopping without the kids, but we’ll know the proper size to get.
I still don’t know what I did to my foot, but I’m relieved it seems to be getting better.
This past week made me realize that I should be wearing very good fitting shoes all day, even when I’m in the house. As a stay-at-home-mom with two active boys, I get tackled daily and have to walk through obstacle courses of toys. After chasing the toddler all day, I have aching feet by the evening too. So once my foot heals completely, I think it’s time to do some shoe shopping.
Information for this column was found at www.apma.org and www.sickfoot.com/footfacts.html.
Shelli Bond Pabis is a Winder resident and columnist for the Barrow Journal. You can reach her at writetospabis@gmail.com
