Give feet a chance

Give Feet a chance?

Or do I need a new pair?

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I bought some new shoes recently and this got me thinking about feet.

Now, I know lots of you will have pedometers, either stand alone, (keep up) or built into your mobile. Seemingly everybody is after the holy grail of 10,000 steps a day, that’s 10,000 times your foot crashes down, jarring the heel, the bones and muscles travelling up your legs. Probably in shoes designed to look good moving between desk and coffee machine.

Then there are the joggers among us, with better running shoes but pounding away on those poor feet, which are suffering even higher impacts. Footballers, rugby players, tennis buffs and fast bowlers, all putting long term stress on joints designed to avoid danger by running to safety, not three hour marathons.

I have heard the arguments that a regular level of activity is good for the heart, lungs and other internal bits and pieces. The problem is that my, far from scientific, observations are that there are distinct times in the urban human life cycle when our feet are tested and times when ‘normal’ use happens. As kids we run, jump and unselfconsciously enjoy our bodies. In teenage years we put away childish exuberance, become cerebral, inward looking, spotty, screen fixated, downright hormonally unsociable. Our still growing feet are in ill fitting trainers in constant danger of tripping over the fashionably untied laces.

A change occurs as the frightening and exciting world of discovering there is another sex leads to a more sporty lifestyle, feet are back in action. Local football muddy slides, university prestige, celebrity status gets the admiration, the mating ritual of the human being. Early morning runs continue after moving in together before hitting the brick wall of domesticity and career prospects. Children, the end of ‘me’ time and men’s feet get a rest, the bones get a bit set and the muscles slack.

Years flash by and the mid life crisis, “Am I still attractive to the opposite sex?” What works for you? A sexier car, a bigger bust, new clothes, visits to the local music scene. Or back to the jogging, the latest gear, trainers that cost the earth, clothing that wicks away that on-show sweat, a hand shaped drinking bottle, the latest ‘must have’ fitness watch. But those poor feet, neglected for years but now encased in the most ergonomically beautifully sport logo on Earth, crashing down every second, loaded with thirteen stone of unfit body.

But, it rains sometimes and it can be boringly cold at others, so let’s sign up for the gym, nice bodies, coffee bar, friendly muscled people to take the money by the hour. And the feet can take a rest from the running machine as there are so many other bits that need ‘toning’. Then there is something good on television, a meal out with friends, the kid’s school concert. The gym lasts less than the year’s pre paid subscription, and feet are relieved, only the nightly dog walk remains into older age.

Which brings me back to my new shoes. My feet have shrunk. Either that or shoe sizes have changed, I used to fit an eight now it is a seven. I have played fair with my feet, no jogging, no sports, (except swimming), no gym, just the dog walking. I tried the counting steps for a week just to see how many I did without trying, it averaged about 6,000 a day.  So why have my feet shrunk? Would they have stayed the same size if I had done all those sporty things?

Should I approach Amazon for free delivery on a new pair?