Get Square with Your Feet

Feet are the whipping boys of the body. With every mile we walk, 200,000 to 300,000 pounds of stress bears down on our tootsies, and by the time we’re 50, most of us have walked 75,000 miles. That’s a lot of action for two narrow islands of 26 bones and more than 30 joints. And yet despite the central role feet play in our lives, most of us ignore them.

Experts say orthopaedic disorders, including foot problems, are a leading cause of inactivity and disability in the United States. “Feet degenerate like tires on cars,” says Washington, D.C.-based podiatrist Arnold Ravick, a spokesperson for the American Podiatric Association. “Just like the rest of our body, our feet spread out, muscles weaken and skin thins.” (more)

by Dorothy Foltz-Gray
Arthritis Today