Foot health and shoewear for women

Females are different from males in structure and biomechanics. The foot in the female tends to have a narrower heel in relationship to the forefoot a nd overall is narrower than a man's foot, relative to length. Females fend to pronate their feet more and have smaller Achilles tendons than males, bo th factors having implications for shoe fit. Although shoes have been worn for thousands of years for the main purpose of protecting feet from. the en vironment, recent studies have implicated shoes as the principal cause of f orefoot disorders seen in females. Several authors have reported the harmfu l effects of shoewear and the greatest factor is a shoe that is improperly fit. With respect to foot disorders in the female, the current study will e xplore anatomy, biomechanics, common forefoot disorders, and shoewear throu gh the ages, athletic shoewear, and a toe strengthening program.