HEALTH NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 30 January 1929, Page 13

HEALTH NOTES

■ CARE OF THE FEET. PREVENTION OF DEFORMITIES. (Contributed by Department of Health.) The foot is a complicated piece of. machinery provided with perfect mechanism in the normal state. Its functions are to support the body and to provide means of locomotion. In supporting the body the heel, with its tough skin and cushion pad, does most of the work, and the rest is done by the ball of the foot and the outer border. These latter are supported by the tense contractions of the longitudinal running along the inner sides, and the traimverse at the base .of the toes. These arches are not primarily intended to take the weight of the body but to preserve the muscles, nerves, and blood-vessels from injury. When, however, the muscles give way and the arches are forced to take the strain the arches are liable to give way and produce marked weakening ot the foot. With regard to locomotion, the act of walking is essentially a scries of alternate rising to tip-toe of either foot so as to take the weight of the body alternately on each and in'that position propel the body onwards. The position of activity of the foot developed in walking and still more in running, is for the foot to be pointed downwards and towards the middle line for the big toe to be pointed well away from the other toes and pressed firmly in the front. The inner border of the foot is straight or even slightly concave. The most important part of the mechanism relates to the activity of the’big toe and the muscles supplying \jt, a process peculiar to the human foot. The foot is kept in the position of activity by the long tendons or leaders connected with powerful muscles in the legs. CHILDREN’S FEET. / V During infancy and childhood {-lie necessity for attention to proper foot hygiene is important if defects are to , be prevented later in life. Many children are permitted, to go through childhood handicapped by weak feet which in the majority of instances would respond to very simple corrective measures. Normal children when left to themselves usually begin to creep during the seventh and eighth months. This should by all means be 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 the 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 arc produced that may lead to the marked degree of deformity which we «ee in weak feet; The shoes for children should have broad toes and be, roomy enough to permit of free action. of the small muscles of the feet. It is very important to wear stockings that lit well. Stockings which are too tight or too small will cramp the foot, and in that way interfere with the proper action of the muscles of the foot, thereby predisposing'the child to weak feet. The gait of children who have weak feet is awkward. They walk upon the entire the foot. The toes turn ouß and the soles and heels of the ehoes are worn out in the inner borders. The feet of children should be examined frequently and carefully 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 the poor fit of a well-constructed shoe, many to the 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. We ’ridicule tho Chinese custom of binding women’s feet, but inconsistently tolerate styles that are almost as unnatural, and injurious. .Shoes or boots should conform to the normal foot lines,- and should be sufficiently long and broad to permit toe-spread and forward,;.;.drive. The soles should be pliable inside lines straight from heel to toe. Low wide heels are the best, and thevheel and the sole ought to be of the/eame depth. High heels interfere with: tho, balance of the body, with stability,:.and; result in a mincing ungainly gait. '

COMMON FOOT TROUBLES.

Corns can be accounted for by nothing else than badly fitting boots. Remove tho cause for the corns and the corns themselves will disappear with a speed and sureness equal to the claims of any ‘'corn cure” advertisement. Renew tho cause and-the corns will also reappear. A minor inconvenience-- defi- ’ nitely arising from too tight bpots is tho ingrowing toe nail, whose origin is easily perceived and needs no subtle explanation by the special fashion . in which the toenails are cut, though 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 the sole common foot defect which is not directly duo to bods, and in even these they are not always negligible. Where tight boots are partly responsible these must, of course, bo remedied. Bunions are amongst the commonest of the evils induced by pointed shoes. Where the narrowness across tho toes is excessive, the foot may in its desperate attempts .to lessen its bulk cause the great toe to become pushed under the second —a tendency which, if the boot is short as well as narrow, will result in the second: toe doubling upon itself in an upward direction, with the formation of which is known as “hammer” or “trigger toe. Callouses are produced on the sole under the ball of the foot due to the forcing of the foot forward - by high heels and the weakening of the trainsverse arch by interference with the functions of the small toes. Another condition induced by misuse of the feet is that of “flatfoot,” and along with it a frequent accompanying state of rigid toe known as “halux rigidus.” Riat foot is produced by the 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 in its later stages while much may be done by cold bathing, stimulating Jinaments, and tiptoe exercises, there is frequently required a definite supporting arch in the boot. The rigid great toe readily arises from fiat foot, since in the latter the 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 double back as in hammer toe, the joint beneath the ball of the foot becomes pressed upon, irritated, and as a result finally ankylosed. The remedy is obvious, ’or rather the condition is preventable. The occurrence of gout in this, the most favoured of its positions, may be explained by similar maltreatment of the great toe, though to a less degree. __