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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HAMMERED TOES
The problem: Forcing the foot into pointy heels also bunches the small toes together and may cause one or more of them to contract, or curl, and ride piggyback over the other digits, a condition called hammer toe. Esthetics aside, there is good reason to have the hammer toe corrected as the condition can be painful, causing an over-correction in walking and standing that leads to referred problems up the spine. Hammer toes can also lead to corns -- thickened areas of dead skin that accumulate where the top of the toes rubs against the shoe. 

The solution: Minimal-incision (no-scar) surgery on an outpatient basis can correct the curl by lengthening the contracted tendon on either the top or bottom of the toe. 
The cost: $600 to $700. Patients can walk soon after, but it takes six weeks for the bone to heal.

THE ULTIMATE PEDICURE
The problem: Your feet look like the fossilized remains of a T. Rex. No worries. Trundle on down to the brave new world of the high-end urban salon or country health spa. Put your feet in the right hands and 90 minutes later emerge transformed -- at least for a time.
The solution: The spa menu is long -- take your pick from salt scrubs, seaweed and mud wraps and paraffin wax treatments to slough and smooth dry skin. While many salons use sterile surgical scalpels to slice corns (thick, hardened areas of dead skin cells, usually on the tops of toes) and calluses (hardened areas of dead skin on the balls of the feet and the heel), others, like Spa-Baby in Toronto, prefer to use elbow grease. "We believe that the body builds these [corns and calluses] for a reason,"says founder Lana Tomic. "So if you use a blade to remove them, the body will build them again."Instead, Tomic's staff use hand-held buffers imbedded with ground diamonds -- that's after feet have soaked in a "purifying and brightening" black mud imported from France. To top off the therapy, salons like The Spa at the Century in Vancouver wax away toe hair, apply polish and may even send customers home with the bottle, should they need touch-ups.
The cost: $80 to $90 for a 90-minute treatment.

HAPPY FEET
Maintaining healthy feet isn't always pretty. Whether you have had an operation to rid yourself of bunions or you've never had any foot problems, you still need to choose your footwear carefully. To really treat your feet right, you'll have to shelve posh heels for daily wear and think sporty. Running shoes are ideal, both on and off the track, so make it your mission to bring the athletic esthetic to offices and shopping malls everywhere. Wide and round shoes give your feet room to move, preventing bunions, hammer toes and other assorted foot woes, says Miltchin. As for the heel, he adds, the lower the better, to prevent knee and back problems. Because stilettos will likely never go out of style, he suggests saving your Manolo Blahniks for special occasions. And while you're at that swish restaurant or fundraising gala, stay in your seat as much as possible!

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