Friday foot facts

Week 4

Did you know out of the 26 bones you have in your foot, your toes consist of 14 bones called phalanges? Your phalanges are followed up by 5 bones named metatarsals. Your toes are there for balance and take in some of the weight off the rest of your foot.

Diagram of phalanges and metatarsals.

Your toes can help you out or really make your daily life painful if you don't take care of them. Cramming them in shoes that are ill fitting can bring some major problems to your toes. We take those digits usually for granted and hopefully I will be able to shed some light on how we treat our feet and toes is important. By taking care of them now, you will be able to put your best foot forward for the rest of your life.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday foot facts

Week 3

What has 33 joints? Your feet! The joints in your feet permit them to do complex movements, adapts the foot to all different types of terrain all in the meanwhile of supporting your whole body. These joints allow you to move your feet in many directions.

Planter flexion

Dorsiflexion

Pointing your toes and foot away from your body is called a planter flexion and when you are bringing your toes and foot towards your body is called a dorsiflexion. The joint that is responsible for this movement is called the tibiotalar joint also known as the ankle joint. That's one joint out of 33! Amazing what your feet can do....in fact, they're a masterpiece when you really look in depth how they function and what they do for us.

That's my Friday foot fact into putting your best foot forward, have a great weekend everyone!

Plantar warts, part 2

Let's talk about plantar warts again, I know, they are a bit gross but the fact is, they are contagious. In other words, don't start picking at it with bare fingers, wear clean socks regularly and please don't lend your shoes to anyone either.

I wanted to share a little remedy that probably already resides in your tool box. Duct tape! If getting to the doctor's to get it checked out is taking too long, you might want to do this in the meantime.

Duct tape on plantar wart.

1.  Clean your feet properly and make sure the skin is totally dry.
2.  Take an emery file that only you will be using, file down the callous on top of the wart.
3.  Swab the area with alcohol to make it clean and dry again.
4.  Cut a piece of duct tape larger than the wart and apply it on dry skin.
5.  Keep this tape on for 3 to 4 days, 7 days if the wart is severe.
6.  Remove the duct tape, give it a night's rest and redo the whole process.
7.  If your skin is slightly damp, you may want to apply a coat of transparent nail polish all around the wart.
8.  Always keep your feet dry as much as possible, water accelerates the growth of warts.

This procedure might take time but it keeps other from getting infected, it also cuts off the blood supply making the wart weaker.

Last but not least, a wart should disappear as your body builds up immunity to it. Hence why kids are the ones that have a higher percentage of getting them.

Remember to check your loved ones feet and keep putting your best foot forward.

Friday foot facts

Week 2

Your total body weight is distributed in 3 sections of your foot when you are standing. The 2 first digits take 25%, the last 3 take 25% and your heel takes in 50%.

Weight distribution

Imagine what our feet go through when wearing heels, have a great weekend everyone and don't forget to put your best foot forward!

Plantar warts, part 1

The new year has started and most of us are heading back to the gym, some are starting a new resolution either to shed a few pounds or just to maintain the hard work they have put in their health regime already.

Either we like to blow off steam at kickboxing, running, being creative at dancing or aqua fitness, our feet are more than impacted by the wear and tear of our favorite sports. Today's article is about plantar warts, you know, the HPV kind, the one that likes to spread in locker rooms, around swimming pools and dojos everywhere. Since I've added swimming once a week to my schedule, I dread the change room. I've had a plantar wart as a kid, the first time I felt it, I thought I had stepped unto a thumbtack running through the grass in the back yard. Any sufferer can tell you they can be pretty painful too.

Single plantar wart

First, a plantar wart needs a break or crack in the skin to make itself at home, they appear on the sole of your foot and have a different appearance depending where they are situated. If one is where there is most pressure like your heel or the ball of your foot, it's appearance will have little black dots in it. Where there is less pressure, it will appear more like a cauliflower. The wart itself will disturb the lines/ridges in the skin.

Be assured, they come in many shapes and sizes. Single, mother with daughters (one larger than the others) and the mosaic type where they gather in clusters.

Cluster plantar warts

Did I mention they are contagious? They also love to live in warm and moist environments. Coming up next week in part 2 in the plantar wart saga, prevention and intervention!

Have you checked your feet lately? Make a point to really look at them, maybe you have a visitor on the sole of you foot that's preventing you on putting your best foot forward.

Friday foot facts

Week 1

I thought it would be interesting to make a list of 52 foot facts for the new year, one for each week.

Did you know that your feet contain a quarter of your body bones? That's 25%!

The body has about 208-210 bones and your feet contain a total of  52 bones, that's 26 bones per foot!

Foot bones.

I also wanted to wish you all a happy and healthy new year and putting your best foot forward in the future.

Coming up in January: Plantar's warts and the fight against cold feet!