• The feet contain a quarter of all the bones in the body.
• Each foot has 26 + 2 bones, 33 joints and a network of more than 100 tendons, muscles and ligaments.
• 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.
• The heel bone is the largest of 26 + 2 bones in the foot.
• Feet have 250,000 sweat glands. When active, feet can produce four to six ounces of perspiration a day, sometimes more.

Walking Facts

• A person weighs more walking than standing. Walking is dead weight plus push energy, which adds about 30 percent to standing weight.
• An average day of walking brings a force equal to several hundred tons to bear on the feet.
• The average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day.
• The average person walks about 115,000 miles in a lifetime–more than four times the circumference of the globe.
• About 67 million men and women are walking regularly for exercise.
• A brisk walk can burn up to 100 calories per mile or 300 calories per hour. Walking is a perfect compliment to a sensible diet to lose weight and keep it off.

Health Issues

1. Studies show that 75% of Americans experience foot problems in varying degrees of seriousness at some time in their lives.
2. At least two-thirds of foot troubles, affecting 175 million Americans, can be attributed to shoes.
3. Women have about 90 percent of the 795,000 annual surgeries for bunions, hammertoes, neuromas, and bunionettes–the four most common problems linked to poorly designed and poorly fitting shoes.
4. Most orthopedic surgeons recommend that athletes wear semi-flexible orthotic inserts. They say these will cushion their feet better than rigid orthotics.
5. 40% of men and women think their feet should hurt. 1

American Podiatric Medical Association, "Your Podiatrist Talks About Foot Health." November 1993.
American Podiatric Medical Association, "Your Podiatrist Talks About Heel Pain," October 1993.
American Podiatric Medical Association, "Your Podiatrist Talks About Walking," May 1993.
Rogers Corporation newsletter, "Poron Insider," December 1994, vol. 5, no. 3.
American Podiatric Medical Association web site at www.APMA.org.
Rogers Corporation newsletter, "Poron Insider," January 1998, vol. 29, no. 1.
American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society, "Foot Care," winter 1997, vol. VIII, no. 4.

More Foot Facts Credit: Ohio Foot Solutions Website (www.ohiofootsolutions.com)

American Foot Facts

• 3 out of 4 Americans experience serious foot problems in their lifetime.
• Only a small percentage of the population is born with foot problems. It's 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.
• 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.
• Walking barefoot can cause plantar warts. The virus enters through a cut.
• About 5% of Americans have toenail problems in a given year.

Diabetes

• Of the estimated 17 million Americans with diabetes, a jump of more than a million in two years, about 3.7 million need daily insulin shots to keep levels of blood sugar on an even keel and to prevent such long term complications as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease and amputations.
• New cases diagnosed per year: 1 million people aged 20 years or older.
• 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. From 1997 to 1999 about 82,00 nontraumatic lower limb amputations were performed each year among people with diabetes.