Kuala Lumpur, December 16, 2021 – Leading footcare expert JennOrtho today launched a foot health campaign themed “Back On Your feet”, addressing increasing feet problems in the country especially post covid lockdowns.
JennOrtho’s co-founder and CEO, Dato Dr Edmund Lee, also a well-known orthotics specialist officiated the campaign and presented insights on feet issues affecting the general public, especially school children returning to usual daily activities after such long lockdowns, with varying health implications and solutions.
Statistic shows 75% Malaysians will experience foot problems at one time or another in their lifetime. 1 out of 5 people experience foot issues like pain, stiffness or aching. By age 50, the average person will have walked or run 75,000 miles.
In Malaysia, the alarming fact is the age afflicted is getting younger, especially children and teenagers. Feet issues have increased dramatically during and post covid lockdown as many had become sedentary during the pandemic. The opening of business and schools means we are getting active again but are our feet ready for it after a long hiatus of reduced activity? After Covid 19, there will be a high rate of children having foot pain returning to school.
Dr Edmund shared insights to “get one back on their feet” with revelations of post covid lockdown feet issues, care and solutions. He spoke about the latest and rampant feet issues amongst Malaysian adults and children today, how to identify children’s feet issues etc.
According to Dr Edmund, our feet are a key pillar support and structure to the whole body. “When your feet are not well or sick, your whole body suffers and that would lead to serious health implications. Few know that feet problems can be pre-empted if early detection is made by way of feet check- ups. “Did you know that doing an annual check-up /analysis on the feet can help reduce feet issues by 80%!” enthused Dato Dr Edmund
During the event, Alvin Netto & Soniia Cheah shared insights to their own personal experiences with foot health issues and the solutions. Alvin – AFC Personal Trainer of the Year 2019, Corrective Exercise Specialist Fitness & two-time Malaysian Book of Records holder and a rehab trainer himself, shared practical insights and demo on corrective exercises for the feet and body. Soniia Cheah, a badminton player/medalist in Sea Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympic, shared her experience on feet healthcare crucial as a sportswoman and having suffered serious injury and undergone 4 times surgery at right Achilles’ tendon.
In view of the importance of proper footcare, JennOrtho launched its Flat Feet Trust with RM200,000 worth of footwear and orthotics insoles to the public who has feet problems.
People with flat feet have a very low arch or no arch, meaning that one or both of their feet may be flat on the ground. The arches provide a spring to the step and help to distribute body weight across the feet and legs. The most common symptom of flat feet is pain in the feet. This can occur as a result of strained muscles and connecting ligaments. Flat feet can also cause an uneven distribution of body weight. This may result in shoes wearing down unevenly or more quickly than usual, especially on one side, which can lead to further injuries.
During the event, JennOrtho had also provided complimentary feet analysis to the public. During the event, some patients with feet problems shared their own ordeals of foot problems and how it has affected their health.
At JennOrtho, the range of footwear includes prescription orthotics insoles, prescription orthotics shoes, orthotics for adults, orthotics for kids, healthy footwear, footwear accessories and customed-made shoes.
The public clueless about their own feet health status need not worry as JennOrtho has its own team of consultant and orthotic specialist specially-trained in orthotic therapy – who serve customers as primary health care practitioners for disorders of the foot and lower leg, offering diagnosis and treatment, but also prevention and rehabilitation services.
According to a health blogpost NCBI in 2013, foot pain is a common problem in Malaysia, especially amongst women. This study which was conducted to establish the prevalence of non-traumatic foot pain and its contributing factors amongst 400 young working Malaysian women, indicated more than half (68.4%) of the women with foot pain in our study attributed the pain to footwear.
Although younger generation is getting more feet problems, older people are more likely to have foot pain. If they have a chronic disease, the pain most often comes from corns, calluses and toe deformities, of which 75% are bunions (a painful swelling on the first joint of the big toe). Foot pain in younger people tend to come from aching muscles and stress on bones. About 30% of older people with foot pain have calluses and about 15% have corns on their toes.
