# Do feet grow longer with age?



## ChiliPalmer (Nov 18, 2008)

I understand that, with age, the fat pads on your feet flatten out, the bones expand a tad, and that feet become wider. 

Do feet grow longer with age, or will they more or less always be the same length? 

Thanks in advance.


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## rsmeyer (May 14, 2006)

ChiliPalmer said:


> I understand that, with age, the fat pads on your feet flatten out, the bones expand a tad, and that feet become wider.
> 
> Do feet grow longer with age, or will they more or less always be the same length?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


They don't get longer after early adolescence-unless you have acromegaly.


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## gman-17 (Jan 29, 2009)

My understanding is that feet do not actually grow, but become both longer and wider with age from the loss of muscle, etc. 

My feet were once a 9 but are now a 9.5--I lost a lot of good shoes in that change.


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## gman-17 (Jan 29, 2009)

Link to answer:

https://health.yahoo.com/experts/sportsnick/10560/are-your-feet-getting-bigger/


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

In my youth I wore a 10 1/2, I now wear and 11.


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## Rolex Luthor (Jan 5, 2009)

There's a funny scene in "The Big Chill" where one character, the owner of a shoe store, is asking for the others' sizes so he can give them running shoes. One guy responds that his shoe size has changed, and he's told, "Your feet get bigger as you get older," and he shoots back, "I wish everything did."

Probably not the scientific/medical answer you were looking for ...


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

My feet reached their present length when I was 15. They have remained unchanged for 52 years. They did widen from B/C to a D width in my 40s. I had been doing a great deal of running and hiking in the previous years.


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## ChiliPalmer (Nov 18, 2008)

gman-17 said:


> Link to answer:
> 
> https://health.yahoo.com/experts/sportsnick/10560/are-your-feet-getting-bigger/


Interesting. He mentions that your arch can collapse, which widens and lengthens your foot.

I have high arches.

I'm struggling with buying cordovan. If I have them for 10+ years - which for the price I'm paying, I absolutely expect - I'd like not to grow out of them.

So do I buy for where I am, or where I'll be?


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## gman-17 (Jan 29, 2009)

ChiliPalmer said:


> Interesting. He mentions that your arch can collapse, which widens and lengthens your foot.
> 
> I have high arches.
> 
> ...


Chili how old are you?

This happened to me at approx. 40 years old or so.

I lost a pair of Alden monks, two pairs of cordovan shoes and a pair of AEs. Others have stretched with my feet or were on lasts that are more forgiving--I would be cautious.


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## Crownship (Mar 17, 2008)

ChiliPalmer said:


> I understand that, with age, the fat pads on your feet flatten out, the bones expand a tad, and that feet become wider.
> 
> Do feet grow longer with age, or will they more or less always be the same length?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


Yes.
When I was one year old I had a pair of mocassins smaller than half my fist.
Now my mocassins are the size of 4 of my fists.

And yes, my fists grew with my feet.
But not for many years.


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## cdavant (Aug 28, 2005)

Age 21 8.5 B. Age 63 8.5 EEEE.


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## ChiliPalmer (Nov 18, 2008)

gman-17 said:


> Chili how old are you?
> 
> This happened to me at approx. 40 years old or so.
> 
> I lost a pair of Alden monks, two pairs of cordovan shoes and a pair of AEs. Others have stretched with my feet or were on lasts that are more forgiving--I would be cautious.


I'm 32.

I'm looking at Alden Longwings. I have a 9D on order. The 9C was clearly too narrow, to the point where it hurt just to stand in them. There is sufficient space in the toe box with a 9, but if my feet were to grow half a size, maybe that wouldn't be the case anymore. But I can see the 9.5's being too big, at least the way my feet are currently.


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## Preu Pummel (Feb 5, 2008)

Yes.

I used to instantly go 6 feet to get the remote control. These days it seems like miles...

As for feet on the end of legs, yes. I was a 12.5 at age 19-30, and now I am a 13 and verging on 13.5 depending on the make of shoe. However, I also grew about 2 inches from age 30-40...which is kind of kooky, but it happened. That myth of shrinking with age doesn't apply. I'm contrarian.


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## laufer (Feb 20, 2008)

cdavant said:


> Age 21 8.5 B. Age 63 8.5 EEEE.


Has your weight changed??? I apologize if question is indiscreet.


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## gman-17 (Jan 29, 2009)

ChiliPalmer said:


> I'm 32.
> 
> I'm looking at Alden Longwings. I have a 9D on order. The 9C was clearly too narrow, to the point where it hurt just to stand in them. There is sufficient space in the toe box with a 9, but if my feet were to grow half a size, maybe that wouldn't be the case anymore. But I can see the 9.5's being too big, at least the way my feet are currently.


I am not sure there is a clear answer. My guess is, no matter what, you will get 10 years from there. I remember my first Cordovans. :icon_smile_wink:


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## Cary Grant (Sep 11, 2008)

Sometime in the last few years (42 now), my left foot (always just a wee bit longer than the right) has gained a full 1/2 size on my right.

I have very high arches. They've not widened that I can tell but they now are mismatched enough that buying shoes that fit left and work right is a real challenge.


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## Preu Pummel (Feb 5, 2008)

Cary Grant said:


> Sometime in the last few years (42 now), my left foot (always just a wee bit longer than the right) has gained a full 1/2 size on my right.


Same age, same problem, different feet.


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## jauburn (Jun 15, 2008)

cdavant said:


> Age 21 8.5 B. Age 63 8.5 EEEE.


This is extreme and, I would venture to guess, atypical as well. Are we talking about the result of appreciable weight gain over these years? I suspect this because my feet have not widened appreciably in over 30 years. Nor has my waistline.


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## well-kept (May 6, 2006)

Guys? Some of your feet have enlarged a half-size over several decades??? 

My adult size has gone from an 8.5 or 9 twenty-five years ago to an 11 or 11.5 now. And I weigh about the same. I walk miles every day, which I love, and for years I have worked standing.


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## jauburn (Jun 15, 2008)

well-kept said:


> My adult size has gone from an 8.5 or 9 twenty-five years ago to an 11 or 11.5 now. And I weigh about the same. I walk miles every day, which I love, and for years I have worked standing.


Bless you. Walking is the exercise of the gods.


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## DocD (Jun 2, 2007)

I get asked this question quite often by patients, and the answer given by Dr. DiNubile on Yahoo is right on target (I happen to know Dr. DiNubile).

In addition to his accurate comments, many patients have noticed a change in shoes simply because of a difference among manufacturers and the fact that many years ago, most shoes were made in the U.S.A. vs. overseas, and that seems to make a significant difference.

And as noted by another forum member, weight can definitely make a difference, and so can edema/fluid retention which can be secondary to medications, heart disease, kidney disease, lung disease or vascular disease.


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## cdavant (Aug 28, 2005)

My feet are the result of 27 marathons, dozens of 10Ks and a lot of 70 mile weeks in my 30s and 40s plus a couple of the world's biggest bunions (one now post op, watch the weather channel and when they are forecasting a cold day in hell I'll have the other done.) The weight didn't go up a lot until I slipped, ruptured my quadriceps tendon and spent 3 months on crutches in a long leg brace.
Since then, 3 years ago, I've managed to take off over 70 pounds--unfortunately that 70 pounds was the same 5 pounds 14 times, but I'm working on it. Where's the rest of that wine...


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## Blueboy1938 (Aug 17, 2008)

No change over (mmmfmuff) years:icon_smile_big:


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## laufer (Feb 20, 2008)

Wow, this is some good info. A few years ago I had a couple of maxillofacial surgeries. After second surgery I lost some 30 pounds. Not knowing that my feet size will also change I started buying spree I bought few pairs of sneakers and a couple of pair of dress shoes. This is nothing new when I find good pair of sneakers I usually buy 3 or 4 sneaker models change every 2 monts or so. Anyways after I regained my pre surgery weight I noticed that those shoes and sneakers do not fit me anymore. Almost all of them were brand new. 

This whole experience sheds some new light on buying shoes. Right now I feel reluctant to spend $1000 on shoes if I those are not going to fit me anymore in 5-10 years. 

I wish Andy, Leather Soul and Aportnoy would chime in on these issue too.


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## ChiliPalmer (Nov 18, 2008)

I've received far more replies than I expected.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a clear answer to the question. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Weight does seem to play a part in it.

I'm 6"0', 215 lbs with an athletic build. As I mentioned previously, I have high arches. Because I exercise frequently, I have to believe that will accelerate the process of flattening my feet. Maybe not tomorrow, but perhaps 10 years from now. 

The cordovan shoes I'm buying today won't see action 3x/week for almost 5 years (soon to be a full-time student). I just saved my money to buy now because I figure they'll cost $750/pair by then. That, plus my current shoes have a hole in the bottom and I really do need a new pair.

An error in judgment?

I thought I'd get a simple answer. Instead, I have more doubt than when I first posted the question!


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## laufer (Feb 20, 2008)

ChiliPalmer said:


> I've received far more replies than I expected.
> 
> Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a clear answer to the question. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
> 
> ...


Well here is the clear answer *do not buy* those shoes. Buy what you will wear this year not what will you wear 3 time a week 5 years from now. There is a English proverb "a penny wise a pound foolish" if you are thinking you are saving $100 now buying those shoes you might be losing $500 if those shoes do not fit anymore in 5 years from now. Buy only what you need. If you are full time student the only investment you need to make are basic black cap toes such as AE Park Avenue, or Johnston & Murphy Georgetown or maybe something from Alden.


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## Bradford (Dec 10, 2004)

My feet have gone from size 11 to somewhere between 11 1/2 - 12 depending on the shoe.

This happened a few years ago when I was 38 or 39.


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## Jaxson613 (Oct 17, 2008)

Mine have gone from 10.5 in my 30'5 to 11 in my 40's. I'm now 55 and up to an 11.5. The interesting thing is my foot width has not changed.


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## gman-17 (Jan 29, 2009)

ChiliPalmer said:


> I've received far more replies than I expected.
> 
> Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a clear answer to the question. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
> 
> ...


Based on your age, I would buy them. However, you could invest the money--nah, buy the shoes.

G


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## well-kept (May 6, 2006)

jauburn said:


> Walking is the exercise of the gods.


Of the gods and of the dogs. Every afternoon, even in a blizzard, they want to do it so we do it. Since they don't wear shoes I don't know if my dogs' feet have gotten larger from all the exercise. Mine? My friends marvel at 'em.


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## Jim In Sunny So Calif (May 13, 2006)

For about 40-45 years I wore a size 12 C. During the past ten years I have gone to a size 12 E. I have had flat feet since I was a kid.

If my feet had to change, I am glad they got wider instead of longer as I don't think anyone makes a 12.5 length.


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## Fashion K (Apr 1, 2009)

Your ears and nose get bigger and bigger. Don't know about your feets, but be ready to be an 80 years old dumbo. Just kidding.


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