PODIATRIST EXPLAINS WHY FOOT HEALTH IS IMPORTANT AS YOU AGE

According to podiatrist Trevor Prior, "Foot pain gets worse as we age. Studies suggest that anywhere between 71 and 87 per cent of older people will have it in some form – be it pain in the ball of the foot, bunions, arthritis in the big toe joint, corns and calluses, or heel pain. Severe foot pain is also associated with a 62 per cent higher risk of serious falls. So over the years, good foot care and footwear become ever more vital."

 

Trevor Prior (Photo: David Rose)

 

"Many conditions show up early in the feet. Inflammatory arthritis often manifests in the foot before anywhere else, various neuromuscular diseases too – people who have back problems sometimes show up first with foot drop (or difficulty lifting the front part of the foot). Diabetes causes poor circulation and sensation in the feet. I had a patient who arrived with foot pain and it turned out he had leukemia, which had infiltrated the spinal-cord, hence the pain. Another presented with a hot swollen toe and it turned out to be from a sexually transmitted disease," says Prior. 

 

Source: The Telegraph [11/20/23]

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News