Lifestyle Choices

Feet are more important to beauty than most women ever realize. When they ache, not only are your posture and movements affected, so is your complexion and your energy level. Nothing brings a haggard, older look to an unlined face like sore feet. Also, one of the most common complaints with which doctors are faced is fatigue. And behind this fatigue lies an unnoticed foot problem.

Little wonder, when you consider that city dwellers walk an average of ten miles a day. All your weight is borne by twenty-six little bones, some of which are the most delicate in the body.

In fact, feet have a higher anatomical concentration of bones than any other part of you. They are supported by tremendously powerful ligaments and muscles (there are four muscle layers in the soles of the feet alone). Your feet are enormously complex, balanced mechanisms. If something goes wrong to upset this balance, for instance a poorly fitting shoe that puts continuous pressure on one part of your foot, you get trouble. And trouble when it arrives can be in any number of different forms: backache, pain, leg problems, irritability, fatigue, to mention only a few. Your free, graceful stride quickly becomes a restricted aging hobble. Learn to look after your feet well and you’ll reap immeasurable benefits in looks, health, and high spirits. Foot care is also the first step toward having beautiful legs.

Like fingerprints, every foot is unique. But not every shoe. In recent years, because of mass marketing and increased costs of manufacturing shoes, sizing has become more restricted than ever. Once you could easily buy a 6-D. Now even many of the best and most expensive shoes only come as wide as a B fitting. And since you can’t change the size of your foot to suit the whims of manufacturers or their financial decisions, you have to find a manufacturer whose product works for you. It is not sensible to try and put a 5-C foot into a 5¹/₂-B shoe and think you are getting away with it, for width and length are not the only considerations when buying a shoe. The depth of your foot, your height, weight, and the way you spend your days, as well as the last of the shoe, also matter. The distance between the heel and the front of the arch and the length of the toes vary greatly from woman to woman. It usually takes a lot of trial and error to find a last that suits your feet. And it won’t necessarily be from the most expensive shoemaker, either. Some of the manufacturers of medium-priced shoes make excellent lasts, particularly for the wider foot. Once you find a last that suits you, stick to it. You are better off passing up some new style that doesn’t fit properly than suffering the long-term consequences of foot agony.

The shoes you choose affect far more than the look of your feet. Poorly fitting shoes, shoes with too rigid a sole or too high a heel, play an important part in the formation of cellulite on the thighs and in the development of varicose veins. If your shoes fit and heel height is right for you, then you stand a good chance of avoiding them. It is also a good idea to vary the height of your heel throughout the day by carrying an extra pair of shoes with you to work or shopping.

When you wear a heel that is too high you throw your posture off balance. This makes you tire more easily and tilts your pelvis in such a way that sacral muscles are forced to remain in a state of continual spasm. As a result, you can end up with a hollow in your back and agonizing backache, particularly around the time of your periods. If your heel is too low for your foot, it is not so serious, but this can result in overdeveloped calves or muscle-ache in the back of the legs.

Finding the ideal heel height for you is simple. All you need is a ruler, a flat edge (perhaps from a thin book or another ruler), and a chair. Sit in the chair and cross your legs so one foot hangs free above the ground. Reach down and put the flat edge flat against your toes and the ball of your foot, extending it horizontally beyond the arch and heel of your foot. Now measure the vertical distance between the bottom of your heel and your flat edge with the ruler and you have your ideal heel height. For most women it is somewhere between one and a half and two and a half inches.

When shoes fit well and they are the proper heel height for your foot, wearing them exercises the foot and leg muscles each time you step. This maintains healthy circulation. If you want to wear a really high or stiletto heel, or clogs, do it only occasionally. The rigid soles of clogs act as splints, immobilizing the feet so they and the legs don’t get a proper workout when you walk. They are also responsible for a lot of twisted ankles and the development of deformities.

Stilettos can contribute to the enlargement of varicose veins and cause swollen ankles because the base is too small to serve as a rudder, and in order to steady the foot too much pressure must be put on the ankle. Finally, too loose a shoe of any kind rubs against the heels and toes and is responsible for a lot of corns and calluses.

More about: Take a Look at the Shoes You Wear

• Shoe Tips
• It is all about Shoes
• Nighttime Glamour
• Putting all together ( Hosiery and Socks)
• Take Care of Your Hand and Foot
• Assembling a Basic Wardrobe
• Caring for Your Hands, Knees, Elbows, and Feet
• Feet and Legs Problems and Solutions Detection
• At-Home Foot Care
• Feet Need Exercise Too

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