At least 75% of Americans experience foot issues (Menz et al, 2001). Toenail disorders (75%), toe deformities (60%), corns and calluses (58%), bunions (37%), and dry skin, fungal infections, or maceration between the toes (36%), are the five conditions that affect the older population the most frequently. The majority of these foot issues may be avoided with frequent, adequate foot care (Badlissi et al, 2005).
Foot hygiene is impacted by age-related changes such as eyesight loss, difficulty reaching the feet, thinning of the epidermis and dermis, vascular skin alterations such as trophic edema, and malformed rigid toenails. Hair loss on the foot and lower extremities is an aging-related alteration that causes the skin to become more dry. Skin trophic alterations are linked to vascular loss (e.g., pigmentation changes; shiny, red skin; hair loss).
Diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, neuropathy, atherosclerosis, arthritis, and obesity are all linked to chronic foot issues, which are defined as those that continue longer than two weeks. In fact, many of these systemic illnesses first show signs and symptoms in the foot. Chronic foot discomfort might be brought on by wearing the wrong shoes, overuse, or a systemic illness. These problems highlight how crucial a thorough foot evaluation is (Popoola and Jenkins, 2004).
lifestyle quality
The influence of foot conditions and associated therapies on quality of life is significant (Katsambas et al, 2005). In actuality, diabetics with foot ulcers experience a lower quality of life than diabetics with amputations (Price and Harding, 2000). The Achilles Project, a large-scale study of 45,593 people with different foot problems from 17 countries, revealed that 40.3% of respondents reported discomfort when walking, 30.7% reported pain, 27.3% reported shame, and 19.6% reported limits in their everyday activities (Katsambas et al, 2005).
In general, foot illness considerably lowers the quality of life for women compared to males in terms of pain, difficulty walking, and shame (Katsambas et al, 2005; Leveille et al, 1998). One explanation is that women often wear tighter-fitting footwear, which raises their risk of toenail onychomycosis, a condition that causes pain and discomfort when walking.
Arrangement and purpose
The two main uses of the foot are for propulsion and weight bearing. The foot needs to be extremely stable and flexible in order to adjust to uneven surfaces for good performance. The various joints and bones in the foot provide flexibility; these bones also create the arch to sustain weight (Quinn, 2009).26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 tendons, muscles, ligaments, blood vessels, nerves, and nails make up each foot. One-fourth of the body's 206 bones—or the feet—combined. Walking for eight hours a day on average exerts a strain on the feet of several hundred tons. Therefore, more injuries can occur to the feet than to any other region of the body (Cavanagh and Ulbrecht, 2008; Mix, 1999).
