Footwear » Foot Facts

Myth	Fact
Once old shoes and boots start to look worn it's not worth the money and effort to repair them.	Shoe repairers can save you money by working wonders on old shoes and restoring them to tip top shape. Best of all, it's quick, easy, and convenient. Favorite old shoes are like good friends...comfortable and hard to replace. Think twice before throwing them away. Instead, treat them to the expert craftmanship of shoe repair.
Dress shoes can be repaired, but not casual shoes.	A shoe repairer can spruce up practically all shoes and boots including casual shoes and work boots, most leather, rubber and comfort-soled shoes, and even some athletic shoes.

Footwear tells a lot about who people are so if you're looking to stand out at work or simply dress to impress, shoe maintenance should be a priority!

According to the Shoe S.M.A.R.T.S. survey, 88% of respondents cited they make positive impressions based on well-maintained footwear:

In contrast, not wearing well-maintained footwear leaves a poor impression:

• The foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles.
  
• 1/4 of all the bones in the human body are down in your feet. When thesebones are out of alignment, so is the rest of the body.
  
• Only a small percentage of the population is born with foot problems.
  
• It's neglect and a lack of awareness of proper care - including ill fitting shoes - that bring on problems.
  
• Women have about four times as many foot problems as men. High heels are partly to blame.
  
• Walking is the best exercise for your feet. It also contributes to your general health by improving circulation, contributing to weight control, and promoting all-around well being.
  Your feet mirror your general health. Conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, nerve and circulatory disorders can show their initial symptoms in the feet - so foot ailments can be your first sign of more serious medical problems.
  
• About 60-70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of diabetic nerve damage, which in severe forms can lead to lower limb amputations. Approximately 56,000 people a year lose their foot or leg to diabetes.
  
• There are 250,000 sweat glands in a pair of feet. Sweat glands in the feet excrete as much as a half-pint of moisture a day.
  
• Walking barefoot can cause plantar warts. The virus enters through a cut.
  
• The two feet may be different sizes. Buy shoes for the larger one.
  
• The average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, which adds up to about 115,000 miles over a lifetime. That's enough to go around the circumference of the earth four times.
  
• There are currently more websites on the Internet having to do with foot fetishes than with foot health.