Unhiding our feet and using our legs

I grew up observing my father’s adherence to a simple rule. He never took the escalator when stairs were an option. He said, you have two of the best doctors with you all the time, your left leg and your right. Use them, and they will deliver preventative medicine better than most other doctors. Abuse them through inactivity, and the consequences will come, slowly at first, but eventually brutally, obesity, mobility decline, heart disease, and then other chronic conditions.

The legs are nothing without healthy feet. Yet the feet remain among the most neglected parts of the human body. They carry us for a lifetime, absorb enormous physical stress, and are rarely noticed until pain forces attention.

Walking around in the wrong shoes can lead to blisters, my fate on a recent trip. Upon returning home, a reflexology appointment fixed my achy feet, and I accepted assurances of fresh life to my shoulders, liver, and stomach. My mindset certainly felt better. It was a bargain at $40, tax and tip included.

Foot care should not be an indulgence. “The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art,” as some claim Leonardo da Vinci said. He could have added that feet can also be the beacon of serious disease, but most people are not modelling their feet for sculpture artists. If they did, the art would not sell!

Aging feet are rarely attractive, rarely seen, and rarely cared for. For many people, physically reaching them becomes a challenge with age. Arthritis, obesity, spinal problems, and declining mobility make it difficult, if not impossible. Family members are frequently unwilling or unable to help. Few adult children volunteer to trim a parent’s thickened toenails or inspect a suspicious ulcer.

Foot problems are among the first signals of poor circulation, diabetes, nerve damage, vascular disease, or chronic inflammation.

Diabetes alone has produced an epidemic of preventable suffering. Reduced sensation means people may not notice small injuries. Poor circulation prevents healing. Minor wounds become infected. Infection becomes hospitalization. It is a grim medical conveyor belt. Each year in North America, more than 150,000 people undergo lower-limb amputations related to diabetes, ranging from the loss of a toe to the loss of a leg.

Here is a fact: walking remains one of the most effective, inexpensive, and scientifically validated forms of preventive medicine. Large population studies consistently show that even moderate daily walking improves insulin sensitivity, helps regulate blood sugar, and reduces the risk of progressing from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. Movement, quite literally, keeps the circulation system working as designed.

Walking also lowers blood pressure, reduces cardiovascular risk, strengthens muscles, preserves balance, and protects mental health. No pharmaceutical company profits from recommending it, which explains why it receives so little attention compared with the endless advertising surrounding drugs.

Meanwhile, modern society has engineered physical movement out of daily life. We sit at desks. Sit in cars. Sit in front of screens. Then we wonder why middle age arrives accompanied by aching knees, swollen ankles, shortness of breath, and metabolic disease.

Podiatrists lament that people seek treatment only after years of avoidance, denial, or embarrassment. By then, what could have been managed with routine care has become a medical crisis. That is not merely foolish. It is dangerous.

If you have persistent numbness, swelling, ulcers, pain, discolouration, or wounds that refuse to heal, do not hesitate to ask for referrals to podiatrists, chiropodists, vascular specialists, or diabetic foot clinics. Waiting while problems worsen is negligence, and always, daily, use the two doctors you have.

This column offers opinions on health and wellness, not personal medical advice.