Feet, pretty glorious feet!

"The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art"

- Leonardo DeVinci

Spring is at our doorstep and I feel the need to talk about feet. Because soon it will be time to take our toes out of our big boots and slippers to put on sandals and your feet breathe a little.

First, did you know that twenty-five percent of the 212 bones in your body are in your feet? These also contain 33 joints (20 actively articulated) and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. If one of these bones - or the ligaments, tendons and muscles that surround them - are misaligned or stressed, the effects can be felt in the knees, hips, lower back and, Infamous IT strip (Ilio-tibial strip - in front of the tibia). And you do not even realize that your feet are the culprit for the pain you might be experiencing.

Consider this: the feet are small compared to the rest of your body, but they must support it and stabilize the entire body. We plant our feet on the ground more than 10,000 times a day ... 15,000 to 20,000 times a day if you exercise. And every time your foot comes into contact with the ground, it absorbs about +/- 300 pounds of force.

And women, be more alert especially if you are pregnant, increased weight on your joints, combined with increased laxity due to hormones, can cause permanent structural changes in your feet, including less pronounced arches and feet that get larger. (My size has increased by one size!) If pregnancy has spared you, the choice of your shoes could do damage. And of course, I'm talking about these beautiful shoes that we would all like to wear, but that are the worst for our feet; on the bench of the accused are fantasy shoes with sharp points and high heels.

Most of us have weak and inflexible feet, confined to shoes and inactive most of the time because we sit at our offices desks for long hours. I read that 3 out of 4 people develop foot problems as they get older. If your feet are injured, won’t want to stand and even less walk on them. If your feet hurt, you’ll be tempted to reduce your physical activity, which will accelerate your aging ... and aging, well that hurts everywhere!

I must admit that, like most of you (and I’m just guessing here), I all but ignored my feet for years. And now, entering in my forties, I must confess that my feet force me to think about them much more often! How about you?

By Jasmine Beausoleil