Is it true that we inherit certain foot characteristics from our parents or grandparents?
We are talking about a scientifically proven circumstance: foot problems and characteristics are inherited from parents to children.
It is usual in a consultation with a podiatrist to ask about family history to establish a hereditary relationship and thus, after an examination, a more effective treatment and prevention can be carried out, avoiding problems in the future. Therefore, feet and genetic inheritance must be taken into account.
But what problems or characteristics are inherited in the feet?
One of the characteristics that are inherited is the size of the feet. If the parent or grandparent has large feet, the probability that the child or grandchild will have them increases, as well as if the foot is small.
Flat feet are another characteristic that can be inherited.
Problems such as bunions or claw toes are conditions that can be inherited from parents to children.
Feet and genetic inheritance an important factor, but not the only ones.
There are other non-hereditary reasons for suffering from bunions or claw toes such as being overweight, footwear, especially high heels in women, intense sports, doing a job in which you have to stand for long hours. such as waitress or sales clerk, neuromuscular disorders or congenital deformities.
Professions that involve intense stress on the foot, such as dancers, for example, are causing a problem that used to appear in middle-age stages, but now there are more and more cases among young adults.
At Clínica San Román we are aware of these problems and that is why we have been performing foot treatments and minimally invasive or percutaneous foot surgery for more than 35 years when necessary.
Article prepared by Clínica San Román
Date of publication: 29-07-2017
Date of revision: 4-02-2020
