How to kick a foot problem

As a gender, we come by our foot obsession honestly, almost inevitably. Legions of women have marched through time and across cultures exquisitely, and often painfully, aware that their beauty is inextricably linked to the flesh, bones and cartilage of their feet.

High heels made their debut in the French court in 1533 and, says Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, "they were immediately embraced because they made the foot appear smaller, and smaller was equated with better."

Cosmetic science is drawing upon the latest surgical and laser techniques, along with highly advanced pedicure procedures, to fix any one of the foot's 26 bones or 107 ligaments, not to mention miles of vessels and nerves to save our appendages from the inevitable.

If you've been hankering for fabulous feet and want to kick a foot problem, here are some options to consider:

BANISH BUNIONS
Foot problem: Bunions, or hallux abducto valgus, will affect 75 per cent of women at some point in their lifetime. The disorder, caused by a hereditary mechanical imbalance in the foot, is aggravated when toes are jammed together -- typically by high-heeled shoes that pitch the feet down into a sharp point -- forcing the big toe to make a 60- to-70-degree turn towards the smaller toes. The result is an unsightly protrusion of bone - and a host of health concerns, including painful knee, hip and back problems, stemming from awkward gaits used to avoid the pain in the foot. If it isn't fixed, of course, the problem grows worse because every day, each foot absorbs the equivalent of 500 tonnes of pressure or more depending on whether or not a woman is overweight.

The solution: Shoe supports, called orthotics, help to eliminate stress on the big toe alleviating pain and preventing the bunion from getting any worse. But they can't be worn in heavenly high and sinfully sexy sandals. Thankfully, podiatrists can now correct hallux abducto valgus with a simple office procedure. The doctor makes microscopic incisions around the joint, then cuts and realigns the big toe. "The beauty of this minimal incision surgery is that there is absolutely no scarring,"says Toronto podiatrist Hartley Miltchin, executive director of the Canadian Podiatric Medical Association.
The cost: Custom orthotics range from $400 to $600 and must be replaced every one to three years. The surgery costs between $1,500 and $3,000, with six weeks of recovery.

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