HEALTH NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 22, 26 January 1929, Page 17

HEALTH NOTES

CARE OF-JHE FEET

PREVENTION OF DEFORMITIES

(Contributed by -the Department of

Health.)

The foot i's a complicated piece of. machinery provided with perfect mechanism in the normal state. Its funii-' tions are; to support. tliu body and to provide means of'locomotion.. In'supporting'the body the heel, with its tough skin and cushion pad, docs most of the .work, and the. rest is done by 'the ball of the foot and tho 'outer border. These latter ■ arc supported by tho tenso .contractions of tho larger 'muscles: supplying, the foot. There.are two arches in the foot, the . longitudinal running along the inner sides, and the transverse at the baso of tho toes. These arches, are not primarily intended to take the weight of the body, but. to preserve the, muscles, nerves,: ,aud blood-vessels from injury. When," however, the muscles: give way and the arches are- forced: to . take ■ tho strain: the arches are liable, to give way and produce marked' weakening of the foot. . With regard; to ■locomotion, the act of walking is. essentially a series of' alternate rising.,totip-toe' of either foot so as to take the weight of the body alternately on each' and hi that position; propel the ■body • onwards. .Tho! position, of. activity o.f the foot deveK oped in walking and still more in running, is for the foot.to be pointed downwards and towards the middle lino for the big toe-to be : pointed well away from the other toes and.pressed firmly in tho 1 front. Tire inner, border of! the foot is' straight "or, even slightly c.Oncave. Tho-most important-part of the mechanism. relates" tb ; . t"ho: -activity of the big too "and the muscles supplying it a process peculiar--to r the human foot, i. The foot, is .kept in'; the position of activity by' the -long tendons o_r leaders connected:;, with' powerful muscles in; tho, legs. :'-." ' CHILDREN'S FEET. "•'During infancy and '■ childhood ' the necessity . for attention" to;, proper foot hygiene is important, if. are to be prevented later in life. Many children are permitted,'to go through childhood handicapped by weak feet which iii the majority-of instances would respond to very simple corrective measures. . Normal. children., when left to ■: themselves usually begin to creep 'tliir-. ] ing tho seventhand eighth months. This'! should by all means bo encouraged,- as' it means the natural requirements; and, trains the bones,-,joints, and muscles to bear weight. After this creeping period comes a more trying period, that of. walking. The transition from .the former to t-he latter should be a natural one. When children.are taught to.stand on their "feet too early, the untrained muscles, bones and ligaments yield to the overweight; deformities of the, foot aro produced that may lead to' . the marked degree of deformity which wo: .sco in weak feet. The, sh.oes for children should have broad toes and be roomy enough to permit/.of free action of tho small, muscles of tho-feet.";;lt is very important', to wear;: stockings'' that fit' well. Stockings, "which" are"';too tight or too small "will jrampf the; foot, and inthat ..way interfere ;yrith,.\the proper,, action of.; the'muscles'.of. the foot, thoi-c----by predisposing the child to weak feet. The gait of children; who'have weak feet is a.wkward. They walk, upon,tho entire sole o£ the'foot. ;Thc to^cs turn out and the,, soles' and ' licels of ..the shoes are; worn.out. in - tho inner' borders. The: feet of-children should bo examined frequently :a;nd:.carcfully and, where there is any suspicion of weakness or a: tendency .towards weakness, expert advice should be sought and remedial .measures, immediately instituted. , . FOOTWEAR. Many of the- ills.of. the feet are due to.tho-poor^ fit of. a , well-constructed, shoe, many to tho" construction of the' shoe itself. In order to be in style, the average person, otherwise intelligent, will ■heroically-, "bear the pain of ' ill-fitting pointed shoes. IV© ridicule tho Chinese custom of binding women's feet, but inconsistently tolerate styles that aro .almost as unnatural and injurious. - Shoes- -Or boots should conform to the normal, foot, .lines, and should be sufficiently long and broad to permit too-spread, and forward drive. The soles should be pliablo and the inside lines, straight from' heej to toe. Low wide... heels' are _th c best, and the heel and the sol© ought-to be of tho same depth. High heels interfero, with tho balance of the body/with stability, and result in a mincing" ungainly gait. :"' / COMMON FOOT TROUBLES. Corns cau bo accounted for by.nothing "else than badly fitting boots. Eernovo the cause for the; corns and tho corns themselves".; "\vill' disappear -with a speed and sureness equal to tho claims of any "corn cure" advertisement. Renew; the cause and the corns will also reappear. A; minor inconvenience definitely arising frefm-. too tight boots is tho ingrowing toe nail, whose origin 1 is easily perceived and needs, no subtle explanation by the special fashion in which the toenails;are cut, Ihough it is probably" safest to cut the nail square across the top, and not to round it off at' the angles.- Chilblains may be welcomed as almost tho solo common foot defect which is not directly 1 due to boots, and in,even these they are not always, negligible. Where tight boots are partly responsible these mnst, of course, be remedied. Bunions are amongst the commonest of the evils... induced by. pointed shoes. Where the narrowness across the toes • is excessive, the foot may in its desperate attempts to lessen its bulk.cause the great;too to becoino pushed under, the second —a tendency which, if tho boot is short as well as narrow, will result in tho second too doubling upon itself in an upward direction, with tho formation of what is known as "Hammer!' or "Triggor". toe. Callouses, are produced on tho solo under the ball of the; foot due to the forcing of-'the "foot '■• forward by high heels; and- the weakening of tho transverso arch by interference with tho functions of the, small, toes. Another condition induced b'y'misuso of the feet is, that of; "iiatfoot,"' and' along with -it 'a. frequent accompanying state of rigid too known as Kigidus." Flat foot is produced by tho crippling of the muscles supporting the arch. Cases of -this painful affliction have been stopped.,by simply, using thicker boots, with, a correspondingly greater support to all parts of the foot; but iii, its later stages while much,may bo done by cold bathing, stimulating linaments, and tiptoe exercises, there is frequently required a' definite supporting arch in the boot. The rigid great toe readily arises from flat: foot, since in the.latter tlje foot lengthens from behind forward.by the collapsing'of.the arch; the great too-is driven forward correspondingly and meets usually the rigid leather of a too short boot, and since it cannot >doublo back, as'in hammer too, the joint beneath the ball of the foot becomes pressed upon, irritated, and as a result, finally ankyloscd. The remedy is obvions, or rather the condition is preventable. The occurrence of gout in this, tho most favoured of its positions, may lie explained by similar maltreatment of tho great toe, though toa less degree.

It is snid to 'be-Quicker,.in most cases, to send a telegraph.-message from Liverpool to London via New. York than to try the direct route.