Improperly-fitting shoes, which can cause bunions, corns, calluses, hammertoes, and other disabling foot problems, are a huge public health risk in the U.S.
One in six persons or 43.1 million people in the U.S. have foot problems. Thirty-six percent regard their foot problems as serious enough to warrant medical attention.
The cost of foot surgery to correct foot problems from tight-fitting shoes is $2 billion a year. If time off from work for the surgery and recovery is included, the cost is $3.5 billion.
A study conducted by the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society found that:
- Nine out of 10 women are wearing shoes that are too small for their feet.
- Eight out of 10 women say their shoes are painful.
- More than 7 out of 10 women have developed a bunion, hammertoe, or other painful foot deformity.
- Women are nine times more likely to develop a foot problem because of improper fitting shoes than a man.
- Nine out of 10 women’s foot deformities can be attributed to tight shoes.
Original Content From The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
