Aging Often Leads to Problems.

• Position: Brief Article

As people age, their feet become longer and wider; the arch of the foot falls a bit; and the fat pads on the heel and ball of the foot flatten. While most people think of these changes as occurring naturally with age, they don't realize that other changes are caused by years of neglect and poor footwear. Walking puts up to three times a person's body weight on their feet.

"A survey done at the University of Vermont in Burlington estimated that about 40% of the population has foot problems affecting about 74,000,000 people each year," says orthopedic surgeon Michael Shereff. "There are many common foot disorders that increase with age. A majority of patients requiring medical treatments for foot disorders are over 65 years of age. And many people over 50 will be afflicted at some point in time with some foot problem."

Foot Fitness for Life, a public education program of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, encourages everyone--especially people over 50 years of age--to take a few simple steps to evaluate the health of their feet. These range from an initial self-examination of the skin, circulation, and flexibility of each foot to reading footprints and shoeprints as red flags that may require additional medical attention from an orthopedic foot and ankle specialist.

"Unless they hurt, most people never think about their feet. Yet, the body adapts to what the feet feel. If the feet are not functioning properly, then nothing else works well either," cautions orthopedic surgeon Carol Frey. "The human body is a biological system. It can change for better or worse. With a few simple exercises, people can actually change the ravages of time to help their feet stay strong and flexible. Improvements can be seen in as little as two weeks."

Orthopedic surgeons classify foot injuries as either acute or chronic...