Quality of Life series features 'Foot Care'

A professional from Interim Healthcare will present a program about foot care at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 12, at the Oak Park Arms retirement community, 408 S. Oak Park Ave. The public is invited to the free program.

From the website FootCare Direct: The first human being stood upright about 1 million years ago causing feet to take on a double load. Our hands were free for other things, and civilization was born! With it came shoes - first, simple skin sandals that protected feet from cold and injury. But since those early times, shoes have more often been worn for status and style than comfort and function.

Today's high heels are almost as rough on modern women's feet, so it's no surprise that 80 percent of all foot problems occur in women.

But men's feet haven't fared too well either. The stresses and inactivity of contemporary life often lead to obesity. And if those extra pounds weren't enough to make a pair of feet ache, the out-of-shape, weekend athlete doesn't always wear the right shoes for the right activity. The result, often as not, is a foot problem or two.

Wearing improper footwear on the job not only causes painful problems for the worker, but it contributes to thousands of hours of downtime - which translates into the loss of millions of dollars - in industry each year.

Fortunately, most foot problems can be prevented. Just follow the Golden Rule: Be good to your feet …and they'll be good to you.

The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay - a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

The program is free and open to the public. Call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.