ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET HAPPY FEET!

From banishing bunions to stamping out heel pain, here’s our guide to looking after your toes and soles

Whether you like to stroll or run marathons, there’s no getting away from it – your feet take a real pounding. Over a lifetime, the average moderately active adult will walk around 110,000 miles – that’s five times around the Earth! And with 26 bones in our feet, and an intricate bundle of nerves, tendons and muscles, there’s an awful lot that can go wrong.

‘Our poor feet are struggling to cope,’ says podiatrist Emma Supple from supplefeet.com. ‘Our ancestors walked huge distances on a variety of terrains, which is good for feet as it gives them the workout they need. These days, we only really walk on hard, flat surfaces, which puts an added strain on our feet.’

Our problems worsen with age as ‘the natural heel fat pad we’re born with thins out over time, leaving heels susceptible to pain’. So why do some people seem to be able to run in heels, while others get blisters from sandals? According to Emma, it comes down to the foot shape we’re born with. ‘We all inherit a certain foot shape that’s prone to developing problems over time. Your feet have to last a lifetime, so it’s how you manage what you’ve got that’s important.’

How can we get our problems sorted? ‘See your GP or invest in an appointment with a podiatrist, who can assess your gait and nip any issues in the bud,’ says Emma. ‘I can’t tell you how many times people have said to me, “I wish I’d come sooner”.’