Foot Facts

All that can be said for the best architecture - solid stability, designed and built to bear great stress, and the ability to stand the test of time - can be said for the foot. The foot is an amazing network of 26 bones, 33 joints and 107 ligments, 31 tendons and yards of nerves and blood vessels - together the feet comprise one-quarter of the bones in the body.

To give you a sense of what the feet accomplish and other interesting feet tidbits, Philip Radovic, DPM, an Orange County podiatric surgeon and member of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, has put together the following list of foot facts:

People take an average of 10,000 steps in a day, adding up to about 115,000 miles in a lifetime - enough to go around the planet more than four times.

The feet of a person weighing 130 pounds absorb 500 pounds of pressure with every step. This impact reaches about five million pounds of pressure each day.

Feet may come in pairs, but they are frequently unmatched, sometimes differing as much as a full shoe size. Unfortunately, shoes are sold in pairs, not mix-n-match.

According to a recent American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons survey, 66% of Americans reported that their feet hurt on a regular basis, and their top self-treatment is changing shoes or taking shoes off. Doing nothing or just living with the pain was the choice of 18% of the respondents and only 7% sought the care of a doctor.

Shoes are important to women since they generally average 10 miles a day, outdistancing men who average only seven miles a day.

Feet and ankles provide an amazing range of motions from a baby's first wobbly steps and a ballerina's toe-dancing, to an Olympic hurdler's hard landings and a basketball players quick turns.

Feet are said to be the "mirror" of an individual's health. Arthritis and circulatory disorders often reveal their initial symptoms in the lower extremities. The foot also gives clues about a person - height, weight and gait. Sherlock Holmes was the master of discerning limps, gender, social standing and foot disorders from footprints. Podiatric surgeons are much like Holmes in determining foot problems based on the wear of a shoe. Excessive wear on the inside heel could mean the shoe is too small or excessive wear in the toe area could indicate a short Achilles tendon. Wearing on the outside of the sole may be bowleggedness, common among children.

For more information about the feet, contact Dr. Radovic's office at (949)493-8020.