Part I
The human foot is a miracle of engineering -- incredibly
strong, sensitive, firm and supple. At every step, each foot
takes the force of twice a person's body's weight when
hitting the ground, placing a pressure of about 900 pounds
per square inch on the bottom of the foot! Twenty-six bones
and thirty-eight joints enable the foot to flex and absorb
these pressures.
For every mile we walk, our feet transport approximately 100
tons, just through moving our body weight forward.
We take approximately 7,000 to 9,000 steps each day and two
and a half million steps a year, which is like walking 2,500
miles -- equivalent to walking across the USA from New York
to San Francisco -- and, of course, it is our feet that take
us on that journey. In a lifetime, our feet walk us more than
four times the distance around the world. However, the
average housewife walks even more while doing her daily tasks
and might walk tens of miles a day.
Only the foot of a human being has a heel bone that touches
the ground, a big toe that is aligned forwards instead of
being set off to the side like a thumb, and bones positioned
so as to form several arches. The long arch from the heel to
the ball of the foot is the most important of these. The
arches are supported and held in place with ligaments and
strong muscles so as to carry the weight of the body, like
the steel cables that support the load of a suspension
bridge. The flexible arches act as shock aborbers to soften
the impact when walking on a hard surface.
The design of the foot gives it flexibility, making walking,
running and other movements possible. If the foot were stiff
and flat and joined directly to the bone of the leg, walking
would be nearly impossible. These features enable us to stand
upright on two feet and walk with a stride -- something no
animal can do.
At birth, the foot contains 22 partially developed bones. A
baby's foot is not simply a smaller version of an adult's but
is shorter, proportionately wider and tapers towards the
heel. The twenty-two bones are made of cartilage, which is
soft and pliable and susceptible to damage. As the foot
grows, the cartilage gradually changes into bone. The foot
does not grow at a steady pace but in spurts and by the end
of the first year, the foot might be almost half its adult
size.
It takes approximately 18 years for the foot to develop
fully, but because a child's feet grow so rapidly during the
first year, foot specialists consider the first year to be
developmentally the most important.
When the baby is 6 months old, the foot is still mostly
comprised of cartilage and can be deformed even by a tight
all-in (baby-gro) suit. Up to the age of 8 or 9 months, a
baby's feet are even more sensitive than his hands and he
uses them to explore the world around him.
At first, the child looks as if he is flat-footed because his
foot does not seem to have an arch. This is because the
hollow of the arch is filled with a fat pad which disappears
by the time he is four or five years old.
When your baby is kicking and moving his legs around, he is
preparing the feet and legs for walking and weight-bearing,
so you should only cover his feet loosely. Keeping him
continually wrapped tightly in his covers restricts his
movements and can retard normal development. You should also
change the baby's position several times a day. Lying too
long in one spot, especially on the stomach, can put
excessive strain on the feet and legs.
A child is ready to wear shoes, after he has been walking
independently for several weeks. The shoe should be the same
shape as the foot, with each inner side being straight. The
toe must be wide enough to allow freedom of movement and the
toes to wiggle. The front of the shoe should be so flexible
that you can bend it 90 degrees easily by hand. The upper
part should be made of very soft material preferably of
leather. The sole should be flexible and non-slip. The back
of the shoe should have sturdy sides to stabilize the heel
and prevent twisting sideways and it should have a well-
fitting instep and heel and a rounded toe. Shoes should lace
up over the ankles, because a toddler's heels are narrow and
will easily pull out of low-cut shoes. A well-fitting shoe
helps the child to be stable when walking.
NEXT WEEK: Foot development at different stages of a child's
life.
