33 Foot Facts You Probably Didn't Know
At Triad Foot & Ankle Center, we like to have fun and 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.
- Your feet contain a quarter of all your body’s bones. (There are 52 bones in a pair of feet).
- Around 13-17 months of age is when the average child will take their first steps.
- By age 12, a child’s foot has reached about 90 percent of its adult size.
- Your toes carry one-half of your body weight each time your heel comes off of the ground.
- One foot is usually larger than the other. It’s rare to have two feet that are exactly the same size.
- There are 250,000 sweat glands in a pair of feet.
- 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.
- 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 that causes pain while walking, ulceration, as well as gangrene and possible amputation.
- It is extremely common for elderly people to suffer from foot disorders, which leave them with pain, loss of mobility, and independence.
- The human foot and ankle contains 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons & ligaments.
- Your feet bear forces equal to a fully loaded cement truck during an average day of walking.
- Walking is the best exercise for your feet. It improves circulation and aids in weight control.
- 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.
- Your feet can be the first indicator 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.
- Seventy-five percent of Americans will suffer from foot problems during their lives.
- The sweat glands in your feet create approximately half a pint of perspiration daily.
- The average person walks 115,000 miles during their lifetime, which is more than four times around the earth!
- Foot problems are often caused by neglect, ill-fitting shoes, and lack of knowledge of proper foot care.
- Women experience four times as many foot problems as men.
- Approximately 56,000 people each year lose their foot or leg to diabetes complications.
- Plantar warts can be caused by walking barefoot. The virus that causes plantar warts enters the body through a scrape or cut.
- Around 5 percent of Americans have toenail problems per year.
- There are more websites on the Internet about foot fetishes than about foot health.
- A man named Matthew McGrory, who wears US size 28 1/2 shoes, holds the title for having the world’s largest feet.
- The average men’s shoe size is 10 1/2.
- A woman named Madeline Albrecht holds the world record for most feet sniffed at 5,600.
- The afternoon is the best time to shop for shoes because your feet are likely to be more swollen at that time of day.
- Nine out of 10 women wear shoes that are too small.
- During hot weather, pregnancy, and adolescent years your fingernails and toenails grow the fastest.
- Before the ancient Romans constructed distinct left and right shoes, shoes could be worn on either foot.
- When you stand up, the average foot gets two shoe sizes longer.
- 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.
- A variety of diseases can be picked up through your feet in communal showers such as planter warts, Athlete's foot, and ringworm.
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