Work-out Safety and Performance Enhancement

· There are 57 joints in the foot that form a "solid" unit.

· There are more than 100 tendons, muscles, and ligaments in one foot.

· The feet contain one quarter of all of the bones in the body.

· Your feet have 250,000 sweat glands and when active can produce four to six ounces of perspiration per day.

· At age 1 in girls and 18 months in boys, the foot is one half the length of the respective adult foot.

· At all phases of the foot touching the ground while walking, all 26 bones are moving

· There are three arches in each foot: the anterior transverse arch, lateral longitudinal arch, and the medial longitudinal arch.

· If one arch "falls" or "sags" the other two arches in the foot fall as well. This can be a result of one leg being longer than the other, and the arches fall in an attempt to even out your legs.

· If the heel on your shoe is greater than 2 inches high the anterior transverse arch will be decreased (fall) and will result in the other two arches falling.

· The most common misalignment pattern of the foot is pronation (flat feet/flattening feet)

Walking Facts

· When your heel hits the ground while walking it amounts to about two and a half times your body weight at that point, and nearly seven times your body weight if running.

· When your heel hits the ground while walking the force at that moment is the equivalent of 5g's and translates to .5g's at your jaw (in your head!)

· An average day of walking equals the force of several hundred tons of force on the feet.

· On average, a person walks about 115,000 miles in a lifetime, that equals more than 4 times around the world!

A Pain in the Foot

· Studies by the American Podiatric Medical Association show that 76% of Americans have foot problems of varying degrees at some time in their lives.

· At the very least two thirds of the foot troubles that affect 175 million people are due to the shoes that they wear.

· Women have around 90% of the 795,000 yearly surgeries for bunions, hammertoes, neuromas and bunionettes.

· 40% of men and women thing that it is normal for their feet to hurt. Feet and the rest of your body.

· Because the feet are the foundation of your frame (skeleton), it is critical that your feet are well taken care of and in proper alignment for the best possible function of your body .

· Imagine a house built on a crooked frame...How long would it take for that house to fall down, blow over, or just stand weak while waiting for disaster to strike?

Dr. Jacobs is proud to offer Foot Levelers and Birkenstock Orthotics to his patients that will benefit from them. Birkenstock makes high quality, reasonably priced Orthotics that Dr. Jacobs feels are the "best bang for your buck" if you are a candidate for foot support. Foot Levelers Orthotics are custom made, reasonably priced and come in a variety of styles for different shoes and activities.  A high tech scanner in the office analyzes your foot.  The information is then sent to the orthotic maker and you receive the orthotics within 10 days. It is not advised to use orthotics without first having professional advice. Orthotics that are improperly used could lead to pain and other unwanted symptoms.