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| | | CONNECT - Footsore Britain
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Go to the Listen Again page | | | | | Should we be more careful about our choice of footware? | | | |
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Most children are born with perfect feet, but before they reach their first birthday they have been bought a pair of shoes, which is where the trouble starts...
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Millions of adults in the UK undergo surgery to correct the corns, bunions and numbness brought about by years of wearing badly designed footwear. By disregarding the health of our feet when we are young, we are storing up problems that often cause serious debilitation and distress in later years. Podiatry is one of the most important services for the elderly and the number of people of all ages seeking healthcare for their feet has increased dramatically over the last decade.
But podiatrists claim that new footwear technologies, some of which are borrowed from the world of sport, others from clinical medicine, could be used to improve our footwear without diminishing its desirability. Orthotic implants in the heel and toe can stabilise the foot, subtle changes in the profile of the arch can relieve pressure on the ball of the foot and the most advanced developments return the owner to the experience of walking barefoot.
UK-based research programmes are investigating the function of the foot which is one of the most complex parts of the human body and has no analogue in the animal world. Quentin Cooper puts his own footwear to the test and,听in the course of an advanced analysis of his feet, he discovers that his low arches, poorly supported by ill-fitting trainers were probably the reason for his recent knee surgery. How many of our knee, hip and back problems are caused by lack of care in choosing what is arguably the most important item of clothing we ever buy? | | |
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