Foot Facts

Women experience foot problems 4 times more often than men.

The average woman walks 3 miles more per day than the average male.

Shoe sizes were devised in England by Kind Edward 11 who declared in 1324 that the diameter of one barleycorn – a third of an inch – would represent one full shoe size, that’s still true today.

The record for the world largest feet belongs to Matthew McGrory, who wears US size 28 ½ shoe.

The average person takes 10,000 steps per day. That’s equal to 115,000 miles in a lifetime, enough to circle the world 4 times.

Madeline Albrecht hold the world record for most feet sniffed at 5600.

The foot and ankle accounts for 25% of the bones in the human body.

There are roughly 250,000 sweat glands on a pair of feet.

Sweat glands in the feet produce as much as half a pint of moisture each day..

The pressure on the feet whilst running can be as much as 4 times the runner’s body weight.

The first shoes were invented 5 million years ago during the ice age and were made from animal skins.

The afternoon is the optimum time to shop for shoes as the feet tend to be more swollen then.

9 out of 10 women wear shoes that are too small for them.

Finger nails and toenails grow faster during hot weather, pregnancy and teenage years.

The ancient Romans were the first to construct distinct left and right shoes.  Before that, shoes could be worn on either foot.

The average foot gets 2 sizes longer when a person stands up.

The feet can attract an array of nasty infections from communal showers, eg. plantar warts, athletes foot and ringworm.

Cigarette smoking is the biggest cause of peripheral vascular disease(disease of the arteries of the feet and legs) which often leads to pain on walking, ulceration, infection and in the most severe cases – gangrene and possible amputation.

Foot disorders in the elderly are extremely common and are the cause of much pain and disability and consequent loss of mobility and independence.

A human foot and ankle is a strong, mechanical structure that contains 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Walking is the best exercise for your feet as it contributes to your general health by improving circulation and weight control.

60 to 70% of people with Diabetes have mild to severe forms of diabetic nerve damage, which in severe forms can lead to lower limb amputation.  Approximately 56,000 people a year, lose their foot or leg to Diabetes.