Intriguing findings from the University of Missouri-Columbia suggest that choosing the right socks may help keep feet healthy—research findings that may certainly benefit diabetics, as well as athletes.

Veteran journalist Hugh Downs and television and stage actress Angela Lansbury number among the 365,000-plus Americans annually opting for knee replacement surgery. Thanks to advances in technology, people suffering from severe joint pain have an increasingly effective option—replacement surgery.

Dear Dr. SerVaas: I want to share some information that might help others avoid ingrown toenails. I have a bunion and recently developed ingrown toenails on both feet.

Toe Spread: Practice this by sitting in a chair with your heel on the floor. Press into the floor with your big toe and spread toes apart. Once you have mastered this, you will be able to spread your toes without having the big toe on the floor.

Dear Dr. SerVaas: I am an 86-year-old, almost completely blind. I have been having strong pulse-like spasms in the ball and toes of my left foot. I asked my doctor, but she was as puzzled as I was. Could it be poor circulation, blood clots, or what?

Dear Dr. SerVaas: My husband had numbness and needles-and-pins sensations in both feet. Podiatrists and chiropodists defined this to be (an unknown cause) neuropathy. He suffered with this for over two years. I read an article to him about not using NutraSweet.

Dear Dr. SerVaas: I never heard of peripheral neuropathy until I was hit with it last year. Since then I have read about it in the Post on occasion, searched the Internet for info, and had every test you could imagine to try and find out the cause. None was found. If it isn't due to diabetes, the doctors don't seem to have a clue.

Dear Dr. SerVaas: On page 90 of the May/June issue of The Saturday Evening Post, I was enlightened to read that another person had numbness in the feet after hip replacement surgery. The first thing I said when I awoke in recovery was that my feet were numb.