The company has put together some useful facts on foot health to highlight this issue.

Advertisement

Your foot and fashion footwear
This is not a surprising fact, taking into account that the average human takes about 18,000 steps a day, walks an average of 70,000 miles in a lifetime (that’s almost four times around the globe) and, with every mile walked, shifts approximately 100 tons (the weight of a blue whale).

According to reflexologists there are pressure points in the feet that correspond to every part of the body. Pressure on the feet increases circulation and promotes specific bodily and muscular functions, for example, the balls of one’s feet correspond to the lungs and the undersides of ones toes connect to the sinus, head and brain areas. So, next time you experience a blocked or runny nose spare a thought for your toes compressed by tight or pointy shoes.

Most fashion footwear places stress on ligaments, tendons and intrinsic muscles (the ones that connect your joints), forcing the body to compensate. This compensation takes the form of biomechanical anomalies like pronation, which is the rolling of the foot while walking forwards. This results in uneven pressure distribution, which in turn, results in aches and pains.

Heels over one inch high are directly proportional to the intensity of symptoms. Heels throw the centre of gravity forward, which aside from making the body tilt forward, changes the alignment of big joints like the knees and hips and can also, over time, cause the shortening of the Achilles tendon.

Fashion shoes are also the main cause of unsightly malformations, bunions, claw toes and hammertoes as well as corns, calluses and ingrown toenails.

Style and comfort are possible
With the variety of shoes available, and the detrimental effect they can have on one’s health, it is important to consider shoes that take the wellbeing of the feet and entire body into consideration. Career women, moms and young hipsters are cottoning on to the idea of obtaining style and comfort simultaneously, in order to avoid having no choice but to wear unattractive health shoes later in life.

And this, say the manufacturers of Aerosoles shoes, is what their shoes can provide.

These shoes are subject to stringent testing which ensures a range of factors are taken care of, from maximum breathability and shock absorption to cold cracking resistance down to 4°C. The "stitch and turn" method of manufacturing also makes the shoes completely flexible.

Brandon Maggen, Podiatrist says, “The average person on any given day will experience an equivalent of approximately seven tons of force on one foot. This force intern is absorbed by the bigger joints (ankles, knees and hips) and back. Therefore at the very least one should wear shoes with a soft, resilient sole, which absorb at least some of the force”.

South African Podiatry Association (SAPA)
 

Print this article

Rate this article Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

JOBS

Senior Secretary Gauteng - North/Sandton Infrastructure Resource Gauteng - Johannesburg Management Accountant R450,000-500,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng - Johannesburg Financial Manager R350,000-400,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng - Johannesburg Financial and Project Accountant R300,000-360,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng - Johannesburg Financial Accountant R380,000-420,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng - Johannesburg SSIS Business Intelligence Specialists (SSIS; SSAS) R350,000-500,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng - North/Sandton Financial Accountant R350,000-450,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng - South Find more jobs Register your CV Post a job