33 Foot Facts You Probably Didn’t Know

At Triad Foot Center, we like to have fun! We have some fun facts to share with you about all things feet. Take a look at some things you might not know about your feet and the wonderful ways they work.

1. Your feet contain a quarter of all your body’s bones. (There are 52 bones in a pair of feet).
2. Around 13-17 months of age is when the average child will take their first steps.
3. By age 12, a child’s foot has reached about 90 percent of its adult size.
4. Your toes carry one-half of your body weight each time your heel comes off of the ground.
5. One foot is usually larger than the other. It’s rare to have two feet that are exactly the same size.
6. There are 250,000 sweat glands in a pair of feet.
7. The first “shoes,” are believed to have been animal skins, which were tied around the ankles. They were worn in the Stone Age by people in northern Europe and Asia.
8. One of the biggest factors contributing to Peripheral Vascular Disease is cigarette smoking. PVD is a disease of the arteries in the feet and legs which causes pain while walking, ulceration, as well as gangrene and possible amputation.
9. It is extremely common for elderly people to suffer from foot disorders, which leave them with pain, loss of mobility and their independence.
10.  The human foot and ankle contains 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons & ligaments.
11.  Your feet bear forces equal to a fully loaded cement truck during an average day of walking.
12. Walking is the best exercise for your feet. It improves circulation and aids in weight control.
13.  Standing in one spot will make you more tired than walking because the demands made on the same muscles are for a longer period of time.
14.  Your feet can be the first indicators of serious medical problems. Your feet will exhibit initial symptoms of a more serious problem affecting your general health like arthritis, diabetes, nerve and circulatory disorders.
15.  Seventy-five percent of Americans will suffer from foot problems during their lives.
16. The sweat glands in your feet create approximately half a pint of perspiration daily.
17. The average person walks 115,000 miles during their lifetime, which is more than four times around the earth!
18.  Foot problems are often caused by neglect, ill-fitting shoes and lack of knowledge of proper foot care.
19.  Women experience four times as many foot problems as men.
20.  Approximately 56,000 people each year lose their foot or leg to diabetes complications.
21.  Plantar warts can be caused from walking barefoot. The virus that causes plantar warts enters the body through a scrape or cut.
22.  Around 5 percent of Americans have toenail problems per year.
23.  There are more websites on the Internet about foot fetishes than about foot health.
24.  A man named Matthew McGrory, who wears US size 28 1/2 shoes, holds the title for having the world’s largest feet.
25. The average men’s shoe size is 10 1/2.
26.  A woman named Madeline Albrecht holds the world record for most feet sniffed at 5,600.
27. The afternoon is the best time to shop for shoes, because your feet are likely to be more swollen at that time of day.
28.   Nine out of 10 women wear shoes that are too small.
29.  During hot weather, pregnancy, and adolescent years your fingernails and toenails grow the fastest.
30.  Before the ancient Romans constructed distinct left and right shoes, shoes could be worn on either foot.
31. When you stand up, the average foot gets two shoe sizes longer.
32.  Shoe sizes were originally created by King Edward II, who said in 1324 that the size of one barleycorn (a grain of barley), which is a third of an inch long, would represent one full shoe size. That method of measuring is still in use today.
33. A variety of diseases can be picked up through your feet in communal showers such as planter warts, Athletes foot and ringworm.

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