Cramming your feet into high heels puts you at much greater risk of developing hammertoes. This condition starts as mild pain, but eventually develops into calluses and corns when your feet, now crooked, push up against your shoes.
If you plan to wear heels, try wearing well-fitting flats or a good pair of running shoes during the day to give your feet as much support as possible before you heading out for the evening. Collagen and elastin create cushioning for our feet, and those cushions are stuffed with fat on the bottoms of our feet.
But as we age, collagen production decreases significantly, which gradually starts to thin out the fat on the bottoms of our feet. Our tendons hold less water as we age, which causes stiffness in our ankles and other parts of the foot. When the water content of our tendons reduces, we become at greater risk for ruptures and tears, doctors say. One of the best ways to prevent tight tendons is to stay active.
Strengthening exercises , like calf raises, are a great way to keep your tendons loose and healthy. While our tendons tighten as we age, our ligaments stretch over time. How does this affect your feet? Your feet. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission.
We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. While your feet are amazing, complicated pieces of machinery, the literal pounding and squeezing they take over the years will change how they look and perform. And the natural changes that come with aging will impact things, too. Rowland explains. In addition to getting bigger, your feet can develop deformities such as bunions and hammertoes as you age, Dr. Get a Second Opinion. MyChart UChicago Medicine. Care Connection Ingalls.
For help with Ingalls Care Connection, call us at or email portalsupport ingalls. Written By Jamie Bartosch. Experienced more foot pain? But feet may get wider, not longer, as we age. They change in their elasticity the same way other body parts do — tissue becomes less tight, causing the increased width and sagging of the arches.
Your feet stop growing longer when you stop growing in height. As the tissues start to collapse a little bit, you can actually get arthritis and pain in the foot.
So your foot needs more support, which usually means a change in footwear. They need to look at something more supportive. Something with a more solid sole, and something with a little bit stiffer arch support.
Buy shoes that are comfortable. You also want to look at thickness of the sole. Not everyone needs an orthotic. That is a requirement for very specific foot and ankle conditions, and not everyone needs it as they age. Plantar Fasciitis is number one. And that can cause pain. If cracks in the skin are deep enough, bacteria can infiltrate the exposed tissue and cause a foot infection.
In older people or people with diabetes, this can lead to a potentially serious infection known as cellulitis. As your feet age, connective tissues called ligaments can begin to stretch, reducing the height of your arch and leading to a condition commonly known as flat feet pes planus.
The pain caused by pes planus, which typically develops in the mid-foot, tends to increase with activity and is often accompanied by swelling along the inner ankle and arch. Hip, knee, and lower back pain are also common. Flat feet can also alter the angle of your foot, causing overpronation, the loss of stability, and an increased risk of ankle and foot sprains. Another type of connective tissue, known as a tendon, can begin to lose water as you age.
Tendons connect muscle to bone, and, if these are shortened due to water loss, you may end up with a more flat-footed gait since you will be less able to flex your ankle, midfoot, and toes. This is especially true of the Achilles tendon which connects the calf muscle to the heel bone calcaneus.
Unless steps are taken to routinely stretch your Achilles tendon, you may be at greater risk of a tear or rupture if you overexert the tissues such as by forceful jumping or running up the stairs. Hammertoe is the abnormal bend in the joint of one or more of toes, typically caused by the wearing of narrow shoes or high heels that forces the toes deeper into the toe box. Hammertoes are prone to calluses and corns. Joint stiffness, discomfort, swelling, and pain are also common.
Once they develop, hammertoes are essentially permanent unless surgery such as arthrodesis or arthroplasty can realign the toe joints. Stretching may help restore some of the mobility but doesn't necessarily reverse the condition. Toe pads, splints, and well-fitted shoes can help relieve some of the discomfort and pain. Toenails usually become thicker and more brittle as you age, making them more difficult to cut and maintain.
Estrogen and testosterone both stimulate the production of keratin and contribute to the smooth, firm appearance of toenails and fingernails. When these hormones decline, the reduced supply can cause our nails to discolor, crack, and form uneven ridges and layers.
Alhough proper nail care can significantly improve your nail's appearance, it may not be enough to entirely avoid aging-related changes. Other common causes of toenail changes include:. A common skin condition affecting older adults is called seborrheic keratosis. They are never seen on the soles of the feet. Though the seborrheic lesions are not painful, they can sometimes be itchy or cause irritation when wearing shoes.
See your healthcare provider if you notice any changes in the color, texture, or shape of the lesions. These may be an early sign of skin cancer, including pigmented basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous melanoma.
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