If you have a strong family history of a particular foot problem, and you find that you are developing symptoms of that problem, you should see a foot specialist immediately. It is a good idea to bring your children with you to have the doctor examine them. He may be able to see an underlying pathology before any symptoms become evident. Unfortunately, most structural foot problems develop so slowly that they are not detected. By the time there is foot pain, surgery may be necessary.
Shoes play only a partial but significant role in creating deformed and painful feet.
Too often the shoe conforms not to the outline of the foot but to a designer's stylized conception of how the foot should look. From the shoe buying habits of women it would seem that they would sooner alter their feet to fit the shoe than wear the shoe that fits. When Japanese women started wearing western-style shoes, they actually had to learn to walk in them and often resorted to illustrations akin to the diagrams we use for learning a new dance. Consider the irony of mothers running out to buy their infants shoes to speed up or enhance their walking. Aside from the fact that these early shoes cause discomfort, they also do not permit babies to stretch their toes, to experience their environment.