PODIATRIST DISCUSSES THE EFFECT OF PREGNANCY ON FEET

If a pre-pregnancy foot is like an ice-cream sandwich straight out of the freezer—sturdy, structured—one relaxed by relaxin is a sandwich left out in the sun. The hormone causes the ligaments and tendons in the foot and ankle to lose their rigidity and strength, so the foot tends to spread out, Alexandra Black, DPM, a podiatrist at Foot and Ankle Specialists of Central Ohio who co-authored a recent review of pregnancy-related foot changes, says. 

 

Dr. Alexandra Black

 

Throwing pregnancy weight on them only compounds the problems. “It leads to more of a flatter foot, a wider foot, and a longer foot,” Dr. Black said. According to the few small studies on the topic, pregnant feet, on average, go up by roughly half a shoe size and lengthen by 0.4 inches. It is a small consolation that this effect is most pronounced during first pregnancies, meaning that feet won’t grow indefinitely along with one’s brood.

 

Source: Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic [12/6/23]

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM news