SOLE FOOT FACTS
Finding the Perfect Fit

Consumers also should make sure that they're wearing the right size. "Most adults don't have their feet measured when they buy new shoes," Jane Andersen, D.P.M., a podiatrist in Chapel Hill, N.C says, "but your shoe size can change as you get older because the feet can spread and lengthen."

One way to ensure that you get the right shoe size is to stand on a blank piece of paper and trace the outline of your feet on the paper with a pen at home. "Your shoe choice should completely cover the outline of your foot, with no lines showing outside the shoe when the shoe is placed on top of the outline you traced.

Measure both feet. Some people have one foot slightly larger than the other. Choose the size that fits the larger of the two.

Consider the socks or tights you'll wear most often with your shoes. For thicker socks or tights, you may want to order shoes 1/2 size larger than you normally wear.

Measure your feet in the afternoon, when feet tend to be their largest.

If you require a wide width and no wide width sizes are available, try ordering a 1/2 size larger in the regular width.

From the CEO.


Foot Care Facts

  • 3 out of 4 Americans experience serious foot problems in their lifetime.
  • The foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles.
  • 1/4 of all the bones in the human body are down in your feet. When these bones are out of alignment, so is the rest of the body.
  • Only a small percentage of the population is born with foot problems.
  • Its neglect and a lack of awareness of proper care - including ill fitting shoes - that brings on problems.
  • Women have about four times as many foot problems as men. High heels are partly to blame.
  • Walking is the best exercise for your feet. It also contributes to your general health by improving circulation, contributing to weight control, and promoting all-around well being.
  • Your feet mirror your general health. Conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, nerve and circulatory disorders can show their initial symptoms in the feet - so foot ailments can be your first sign of more serious medical problems.
  • Arthritis is the number one cause of disability in America. It limits everyday dressing, climbing stairs, getting in and out of bed or walking - for about 7 million Americans.
  • About 60-70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of diabetic nerve damage, which in severe forms can lead to lower limb amputations. Approximately 56,000 people a year lose their foot or leg to diabetes.
  • There are 250,000 sweat glands in a pair of feet. Sweat glands in the feet excrete as much as a half-pint of moisture a day.
  • Walking barefoot can cause plantar warts. The virus enters through a cut.
  • The two feet may be different sizes. Buy shoes for the larger one.
  • About 5% of Americans have toenail problems in a given year.
  • The average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, which adds up to about 115,000 miles over a lifetime. That's enough to go around the circumference of the earth four times.
  • There are currently more websites on the Internet having to do with foot fetishes than with foot health.
Source: www.foot.com