FOOT 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.
1/8 of all the bones in the human body are 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. It is neglect and a lack of awareness of proper care - including ill fitting shoes - that bring on problems.
Women have about four times as many foot problems as men. High heels are partly to blame.
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 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.
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.