Forefoot

“ 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 ”

“ I can think of no juster simile than a frog trying to walk upright with half its hind legs amputated and stilts fastened to the stumps. Why the deformed feet should ever have been termed "small" I am at a loss to imagine, all that I have seen being quite the reverse. The bottom of the foot, it is true, is bandaged, and compressed into a hoof-like smallness, with the toes all forced into the sole, and on this the shoe is fitted; but look at the ankle, instep, and heel, and you will see nothing but an immense shapeless mass, closely resembling the foot of an elephant. ”

“ 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. ”

“ At this time high heels are most dangerous, as they are not only likely to cause the wearer to fall forward, but they prepare for her a difficult labour by causing the lumbar vertebrae to push forward.
The high heel assists the pointed toe in deforming the foot by forcing the foot forward to the end of the boot.
A simple experiment will show any individual what the shape of his boots ought to be; for feet are as distinctive features of the human frame as hands or faces, and they ought to be studied accordingly. ”

“ A person cannot walk easily and handsomely—much less run—in boots that are uncomfortable, or with corns and sore joints crying out at every step. High heels necessarily give an unnatural character to the step, because the heel of the foot does not come near the surface, as Nature intended. The weight of the body is thrown too much upon the forward part of the foot, which would seem likely to have some tendency toward breaking it down, while it prevents that very spring upon the ball and toes which is the most essential thing in graceful walking. ”

“ The heels of the fashionable ladies' shoes at the present moment—quarter past three, P.M., August 4th, 1870,—are two inches high, and at the bottom not larger than an old-fashioned silver quarter of a dollar, if anybody can remember how large that was.
Need it be argued that this absurd fashion weakens the ankle, and jams the toes into the sharp points of the boots?
If a woman were to walk as much as her health requires, with those most unphysiological heels, her feet would soon be crippled. The ankle, the heel, the arch of the foot and the toes must all suffer. ”

“ Any mechanical displacement of one bone throws not only all bones out of harmonious working order but also disarranges their accompanying muscles and the nerves attached to them, resulting in inefficient action and in radiating pains. The fleshy parts of the foot are at the sole, ball, on the bottom of the heel and along the outer border and they play the part of protection where it is most needed. The bottom flesh forms pads in walking and supporting the body, insuring springiness and lessening the jar which is incidental to locomotion. ”

“ A false habit, tending in the same direction, is that of changing the shoes of children to make them wear evenly or prevent their treading over to one side at the heel. It is a practice productive of far more harm than good—a saving of shoe-leather at the foot’s expense. After one foot has shaped a shoe to itself, to put the other into it [Pg 26] forcing the great toe into the curve made by the little toe and outside of the foot, must do much toward bending the toe permanently out of place. ”

“ We wish them short shoes, and corns on their toes."
Narrow-toed shoes aggravate the abnormal position of the great-toe, and cramp the other toes closely together, stopping all their free and healthful motion.
Narrow soles cramp the whole foot; calluses, corns, stiff and inelastic joints, and wasted muscles follow. The distress endured by a fleshy foot in a narrow shoe must be felt to be appreciated. If shoes are not cut "rights and lefts," they do not conform to the shape of the foot, and keep it in a continuous strain, exercising also a tendency to break down the supporting arch. ”

“ The cause first operating to produce them is the wrong shape of the shoe at the inside, which gives the oblique position to the great toe. Narrowness and shortness are stronger influences acting in the same direction, aided still further by extreme height of heels, by changing, by narrow-toed stockings, etc. And it is especially worthy of being noticed that the short and narrow toes, and the high heels often adopted to improve the foot’s appearance, do thus inevitably defeat that purpose. ”

“ But though the stay, when properly used, may be upheld, there is nothing that can be said in excuse of the wicked fashion—wicked, because the cause of much deformity and disease—of the high heel and pointed toe. We all know the mischief done by the very high heel, and from an artistic point of view it is to be condemned, making, as it does, the prettiest foot look like a hoof and destroying all freedom and dignity of gait. ”

“ 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 nature of the cause here spoken of seems to be like that of a sprain, to a slight degree, and may be an influential one, but we doubt that it is the most common cause of that loosening of the ligaments which allows the foot to break down. The most common and efficient of all the causes of this difficulty, it appears to us, is the short heel which has always been worn on boots and shoes, and is still, except where an innovation upon its shape has been made within a few years past. ”

“ The toes naturally lie straight forward in the line of the foot. Few persons in civilized nations, however, have naturally formed feet. The big toe is crowded upon the others, while crossed toes, nails grown-in, enormous joints, corns, and bunions abound.
THE CAUSE OF THESE DEFORMITIES is found in the shape and size of fashionable boots and shoes. The sole ought to be large enough for full play of motion, the uppers should not crowd the toes, and the heels should be low, flat, and broad. ”

“ In founder or chronic laminitis, where the sole of feet are dropped, caused by the displacement of the weight-bearing bones of the foot, fix the feet by lowering the quarters and heels so as to get as much frog pressure as is possible, without making the foot tender, and your foot is ready for the shoe. A shoe for a dropped sole foot must be a bar shoe, thick at the toe and thin at the heels, with a wide thin bar to receive the frog pressure. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The four small toes wuz twisted right under the ankle, and the broken, crushed bones of the foot pressed right up where the instep should be. The pain must have been sunthin’ terrible, and very often a toe drops off, but I spoze they are glad of that, for it would make the little lump of dead flesh they call their feet smaller. They wear bright satin shoes, all embroidered and painted, and their little pantelettes cover all but the very end of the toe. They all, men and wimmen, wear a loose pair of trowsers which they call the foo, and a kind of jacket which they call a sham. ”

“ Ordinarily, overreach occurs when the animal is at a gallop, and is thus met with in its severest form in hunters and steeplechasers. It can only occur when the fore-foot is raised from the ground and the hind-foot of the same side reached right forward. When the feet separate the injury takes place. In its movement backwards the inner border of the shoe of the hind-foot catches the coronet of the fore, and tears it backwards with it. ”

“ Silkworms apart, it was quite imperative. The strain on my ankles! You, perhaps, do not know what it is to walk with a high heel on one shoe and none at all on the other. It gives one a curious gait, which is remarked and quite misunderstood by boys in the street, and it is painful as well. Uncertain though I was of the way Clara would take it, I felt I must borrow a pair of shoes from her. ”

“ The same specific applies equally to what are called “whitlows,” or “felons” a gathering in the region of the fingernail that is extremely painful, and to which some are constitutionally liable.
When the feet are large, the owners should never be tempted into wearing any but the very plainest boots and shoes. Ornamentation of any kind makes the foot look larger. Even a pretty foot looks its best in a perfectly plain satin slipper, with only a small rosette with buckle on the toe. This rosette must not, however, be permitted to the large foot. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ From those we learn that a shoe with a flat-bearing surface, or one moderately seated but flat at the heels, is the correct shoe for nearly all feet. The heels of the shoe should not be too high, should not be too short, and should be wide enough apart from each other to insure the wall of the foot obtaining a fair share of the bearing. Finally, even with the present method of shoeing, whenever it is possible to allow the frog to come to the ground, it should be encouraged to do so, and excessive paring either of the latter organ or of the bars or the sole should be strictly discountenanced. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Beaked shoe for stilt-foot.
Causes.—1. The upright hoof is peculiar to the “standing under” position (Fig. 53, page 66) and to the so-called bear-foot (Fig. 70, page 72) .
2. It arises also as a result of all those alterations in the direction of the limbs which tend to remove the quarters from contact with the ground (contraction of the flexor tendons, spavin,—Fig. 202) .
3. It may arise gradually from neglect of the hoofs of horses running barefoot.
4. It may arise from excessive shortening of the toe in relation to the quarters. ”

“ I have observed with minute care the cast from the antique as well as “the modern instances,” and I am obliged to admit, that much of the pain I have witnessed, much of the distortion of the toes, the corns on the top of the feet, the bunion on the side, the callosities beneath, and the growing-in of the nails between, are attributable to the shoemaker. The feet, with proper treatment, might be as free from disease and pain as the hands; their structure and adaptation to the wants and comfort of man, as we have seen, is most perfect. ”

“ This allows the astragalus and the whole arch to sink down to the same extent, and, in time, all parts of the foot will adapt themselves to their changed condition, and the flat shank become a permanent thing. If any person will examine a slipper worn with a heel, or a boot having an ordinary sole, it will be seen that just in front of the heel the sole is depressed, or bent downward, from one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch. ”