Footpad

“ Occasionally on the sidewalk, amid the dapper, swiftly-moving, high-heeled boots and gaiters, I catch a glimpse of the naked human foot. Nimbly it scuffs along, the toes spread, the sides flatten, the heel protrudes; it grasps the curbing, or bends to the form of the uneven surfaces,—a thing sensuous and alive, that seems to take cognisance of whatever it touches or passes. How primitive and uncivil it looks in such company,—a real barbarian in the parlour. We are so unused to the human anatomy, to simple, unadorned nature, that it looks a little repulsive ”

“ The four toes are doubled under the foot, and the large toe folded on the top. When bound together a sort of club-foot or hoof results, but the women manage to walk in spite of their deformity. To a western eye, the movement resembles a waddle rather than a walk. ”

“ And, doubtless, for man, woman, and child the tender, irregular, sensitive, living foot, which does not even stand with all its little surface on the ground, and which makes no base to satisfy an architectural eye, is, as it were, the unexpected thing. It is a part of vital design and has a history; and man does not go erect but at a price of weariness and pain. How weak it is may be seen from a footprint: for nothing makes a more helpless and unsymmetrical sign than does a naked foot. ”

“ Having thus arranged her coiffure, she seated herself upon the edge of the ivory footstool and commenced to untie the little bands which fastened her buskins. We moderns, owing to our horrible system of footgear, which is hardly less absurd than the Chinese shoe, no longer know what a foot is. ”

“ Exercises on tip-toe, especially with a skipping rope, massage, rest and tonic treatment will give relief, and shoes or boots may be supplied with the heel and sole thickened along the inner borders so that the weight may be received along the strong outer border of the foot. When the flat-footed individual stands it should be upon the outer borders of his feet, or better still, when convenient, on tip-toe, as this posture strengthens those muscles of the leg which run into the sole of the foot and hold up the bony arches. ”

“ It is interesting to learn that by the use of the feet and the manipulation of the toes, artists, or, at all events, craftsmen, have been helped in their work. A famous craftsman of Cairo, who works in wood and produces beautiful lattices for windows and doorways, uses his left foot as a third hand; because of his skill in the use of this foot he is known to the city as 'the three-handed man.'
When the foot is seen from the back the heel is naturally the most prominent feature. ”

“ The foot has in its structure all the fine appliances you see in a building. In the first place, there is an arch, in whatever way you regard the foot; looking down upon it, we perceive several bones coming round the astralagos, and forming an entire circle of surfaces in the contact. If we look at the profile of the foot, an arch is still manifest, of which the posterior part is formed by the heel, and the anterior by the ball of the great toe ”

“ Some day, when we are really civilized, high heels will be unknown. I am convinced that the Omnipotent Creator knew his business thoroughly when he created the human foot, that the sole of the human foot, heel included, was made for locomotion, and that it is impossible for human ingenuity to improve upon the foot. In other words, if you can secure footwear that will enable you to walk with the same freedom that you can enjoy when barefooted, you will then have attained perfection in foot covering. ”

“ The more the wood is taken off here, the more the foot will be thrown toward the outside of the shoe, or made to tread outside, and this will somewhat counterbalance the tendency which the toe has, when the end of it is made stationary, to push the joint and whole foot toward the inside. ”

“ For about two years the foot aches continually, and is subject to a constant pain, like the pricking of sharp needles.” Finally the foot becomes reduced to a shapeless mass, void of sensibility, which “has now the appearance of the hoof of some animal rather than a human foot, and affords a very insufficient organ of support, as the peculiar tottering gait of those possessing it clearly shows.” ”

“ This justifies the conclusion, that all the variety of motion, and complete adaptation to an infinite number of uses, which exists in the hand, exists also to a less degree in the foot, and can be brought out and exhibited, much of it at least, under circumstances requiring its development. There is no reason for scepticism as to the foot’s concealed powers—none for withholding the admiration due to its perfect performance of the offices for which it is designed. ”

“ The adult foot, when properly formed, is straight from heel to toe on the inner side, and is wider across the joints than one inch or so farther back. The manner of walking has a considerable bearing on the character and development of the foot. ”

“ The pedestal, I mean the foot, turns, at a man’s pleasure, under the pillar. In this foot we find nothing but nerves, tendons, and little bones closely knit, that this part may, at once, be either more supple or more firm, according to various occasions. Even the toes, with their articles and nails, serve to feel the ground a man walks on, to lean and stand with more dexterity and nimbleness, the better to preserve the equilibrium of the body, to rise, or to stoop. The two feet stretch forward, to keep the body from falling that way, when it stoops or bends. ”

“ As the foot spreads at every step, the arch naturally flattens in the middle, but this is prevented when the sole is built up under it. It is self-evident that the foot is designed to tread on a flat surface, as its most natural function. Any attempt to make it tread constantly on a convex one is manifestly wrong. ”

“ The shoe should be long enough to extend well forward of the toes—two-thirds of an inch longer than the longest measurement of the naked foot; the inner sole border should be straight, broad across the ball and for average work on the roads need not be heavy but above all things it should conform to the foot. Have the heel fit snugly but across the ball or front of the foot arch no compression at all.
The tendency is to overdo foot covering, getting the shoes too heavy. There is no need of lugging around extra weight. ”

“ A little higher, I found the outline of a foot, not so small as to awake an ecstasy, but with a suggestion of lightness, elasticity, and grace. If hands were thrust through holes in a board-fence, and nothing of the attached bodies seen, I can easily imagine that some would attract and others repel us: with footprints the impression is weaker, of course, but we cannot escape it. ”

“ In aid of this, the sole of the foot, and each of the toes, has a soft, elastic pad, or cushion under it, on which they walk, and as they never set the heel to the ground, their footsteps are noiseless, unless they choose them to be otherwise. ”

“ The room is entirely filled, while at the same time the foot is easy, and can make its natural movements in walking with ease and grace; which it can not do when squeezed into a boot that is too tight. A person wearing a tight boot has a stiff and unnatural walk, which can not be compensated by any beauty of the fit so gained, provided it is gained. ”

“ It is our duty to adjust the foot covering to assist Nature in protecting the foot.
Commonly the fitting of shoes is influenced by a consideration of fashion and style and not comfort, with a resulting condition which most people cheerfully accept, thinking that by so doing their feet will appear small and neat but really causing a cramping and narrowing of the ball and toes, with possible chafing, blistering, callus or corns—conditions incompatible with walking efficiency. ”

“ A mere glance at our bare foot will show conclusively that pointed-toe boots are false in the theory of design. The toes of a foot when off duty touch each other gently. When they are called on to assist us in walking or in supporting our body, they spread out—although not to any great extent. ”

“ The foot is, like that of an ancient statue, wide and full across the toes, each of which has its separate function just as have the fingers of the hand, and each of which is equally capable of performing that function. ”

“ In some places your footstep is perfectly implanted, showing the whole shape, and the square toe, and every nail in the heel of your boot. Elsewhere, the impression is imperfect, and even when you stamp, you cannot imprint the whole. ”

“ Other forms of tight pressure upon the body are open to serious if not to equal objection. The wearing of shoes which compress and distort the feet is a singularly injurious custom. Suppose I said that nine tenths of the feet of the members of an English community were rendered misshapen by the boots and shoes worn, the statement would seem extreme, but it would be within the truth. The pointed shoe or boot is the most signal instance of a mischievous instrument designed for the torture of feet. ”

“ Such a brisk walk will often prevent the development of flat foot, especially if care is taken to spring properly from the ball of the foot, in the good, old-fashioned heel and toe method of walking. Once flat foot has developed, walking probably is more difficult, but even then, with properly fitting shoes, the patients will be the better for a good walk after their work is over. ”

“ Take a short run, place the toe of the right foot against a wall and throw the left leg over it, making a complete turn at the same time so that when your foot touches the ground your back is to the wall. The right foot is the pivot on which you turn and you must take especial care to keep it quite close to the wall while you perform the Turn Over. ”

“ So also it is seen that the old-fashioned short heels, so long worn, have had an influence in producing the broken-down arch of the flat-foot; while other defects in the construction of the foot’s covering manifest themselves by callosities on the heel and instep, the turning over to one side, and the pressure, squeezing, and general discomfort in the fit. ”

“ The heel, on the bottom, is quite convex, which allows the heel of the foot to settle down into that of the boot more than usual, and thus what appears to be a high heel, outside, feels, on the foot, to be no higher than one made upon ordinary lasts an eighth of an inch lower. There is hence so much less pressure upon the ends of the toes. ”

“ Local applications of starch-powder and the juice of lemon may be used to advantage.
THE FEET.
A well formed foot is broad at the sole, the toes well spread, each separate toe perfect and rounded in form. The nails are regular and perfect in shape as those of the fingers. The second toe projects a little beyond the others, and the first, or big toe, stands slightly apart from the rest and is slightly lifted. The feet, from the circumstance of their being so much confined by boots and shoes, require more care in washing than the rest of the body. Yet they do not always get this care. ”

“ The natural object and intention of the foot is the support of the body, and the carrying of it, in all its movements, lightly, easily, safely, and gracefully. To this object it is as beautiful and wonderfully adapted as the eye and ear, those special objects of wonder, to the functions performed by them. ”

“ The foot then of the infant can be flexed until it is almost parallel with the [133] leg; during growth it loses flexibility as it gains in strength and becomes adapted for the erect position and for walking, which is the natural gait of man. The angle made by the foot with the leg in adults is fairly fixed, and a difference between guides and amateurs in this respect is not easy to discover. ”

“ If shoes were made fan-shaped, like the imprint of a bare-foot in the sand, instead of having the greatest width across the ball of the foot, they might look strange at first, but they would be comfortable for all time. Those then who care more for comfort than for style, as most of us falsely profess to do, would have both cornless and comely feet. ”

“ If you can fix the foot properly to control the line of action that you want, you will surely accomplish something. You should know what angle suits the action best. The foot should be symmetrical in shape to conform with the coffin bone, have no more foot on one side of the frog than on the other side, and the bearing surface to hang so as the foot will land on and leave the ground as square or level as possible. ”

“ Now compare with this any natural foot habituated to shoes or boots. The bunch of three toes is pressed back, and also sideways against the great toe, thus losing the division between them and the great toe, and destroying{301} the true contour of the foot. The pads of all the toes are pressed sideways instead of being immediately under the nails, and the foot has entirely lost its original character, and has become grotesquely malformed by corns, bunions, and similar growths. ”

“ The frog- and buttress-pad used with a short shoe is to be preferred to the earlier frog pad which takes a full shoe.
The advantages of rubber pads are:
1. They prevent slipping upon asphalt and other smooth, dry surfaces. [Pg 136]
2. They diminish concussion, and are valuable in the prevention and treatment of sore heels, dry and moist corns, bruised sole, and incipient side-bone. ”