As you age, your body goes through dozens of changes. Some of them are subtle, but they can have a significant impact on your day-to-day life, including your safety at work. One of these changes affects the feet.
How Do the Feet Change When Aging?
In the workplace, you need to wear the right pair of equipment and clothing, such as shoes. If your job demands a lot of walking and climbing and even running, your company and you must invest in the best safety boots.
These types of work shoes become even more essential as you grow older. It’s because your feet undergo plenty of changes that can increase your risk of disease or injury.
Feet Growth
Your feet can grow in length and width. From your childhood to early adulthood, they can increase in length. Many factors can influence these, such as genetics. Either way, proper foot development is necessary for balance, coordination, and flexibility.
Sometimes the foot’s length will continue to gain length even when you’re past twenties. However, more often than not, they stop growing when you reach around 20 years old.
Interestingly, by the time you are in your middle age, you might notice your shoe size changing. Around this time, your feet will increase in width – they get bigger!
Why Your Feet Become Big
People’s feet can increase in girth or width for many reasons. One common cause is edema or the acute or sudden swelling of the feet because of excess body fluid trapped in the tissues.
It could occur during pregnancy since the body tries to retain as much water as it could for both the mom and the baby. It can also be associated with heart failure. Because of the damage to the circulatory system, the fluids cannot circulate effectively anymore.
Edema is also a common symptom among individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In CKD, the kidneys fail to filter toxins and excess water properly.
Aging can also cause bigger feet, and the explanation is no different from that of the appearance of wrinkles. As you grow older, you will lose muscle mass. In turn, the skin can become loose or sag.
The Problem with Changing Feet Sizes
For some people, the changes in feet size are harmless. The only difference is they need to buy bigger shoes. For many individuals, it can be a risk of injury or a health problem.
When the muscles sag, the feet might lose your arch support. It could lead to pain when walking or even standing, particularly during prolonged periods.
It could also speed up the wear and tear of the joints and tendons since they are all interconnected. When this happens, you are likely to develop arthritis. If you already have this condition, then foot changes can make it worse.
To minimize the risk, consider doing the following:
- Buy shoes with good arch support or with thick insoles.
- Avoid using the same shoes when they no longer fit properly.
- Lose the excess weight to reduce the pressure on the feet.
- Performing stretching exercises for the feet and legs.
Your feet go through many massive changes as you grow old. Unfortunately, you don’t have any control over that. You can, however, learn to manage its impact on your health and function.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
