Dress : its sanitary aspect a paper read before the Brighton Social Union, January 30th, 1880, with additions / by Bernard Roth.

  • Roth, Bernard.
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dress : its sanitary aspect a paper read before the Brighton Social Union, January 30th, 1880, with additions / by Bernard Roth. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    18/40 (page 14)
    We now come to tlie important subject of the coverings of the feet. It is wonderful how much self-torture and discomfort are daily endured because it is the fashion to get our feet to fit our boots, and not our boots to fit our feet. The widest part of the foot is naturally at the root of the toes, and the corresponding part of the solo has, together with the heel, to support most of the weight of the body. (See Pis. 6, a ; 8, a.) The healthy foot is exceedingly beautifully constructed; it is not only arched from before backwards (see PI. 6, a), but also from side to side, so that its tread has great elasticity—very important for preventing concussion of the spinal cord and brain. The heel is composed of a large bone, os calcis, lying on a thick pad of fat, and constitutes the hinder base of the antero-posterior arch, of which the joints of the roots of the toes (metatarso- phalangeal joints) form the anterior base. The transverse arch of the foot reaches the ground only on the outer border of the sole of the foot, while its inner base is raised one or two inches, and thus allows of the antero-posterior arch being visible. In PI. 6, a, the longitudinal section is taken through the inner side of the foot, through the ball of the great toe. If taken through the outer side this arch would not be shown, because the whole sole touches the ground. Anyone can demonstrate this by walking with wet feet on dry boards or a sheet of brown paper, when the wet impression of the feet will be represented by two large spots (the base of the toes and the heel) joined by a thick short line on the outside. All these beautiful provisions of Nature are set at nought at fashion’s dictation; instead of the gentle spreading out of the toes and yielding of the arches of the foot when a step is taken, the foot and toes are squeezed into a leather case much too small for them, keeping them stiff and immovable. (See PL 8, a b, which represents the same sized foot in a properly-constructed and in a fashionably-shaped boot.) The beautiful arch from before backwards is spoiled, and the elasticity of this and the transverse arch of the foot interfered with, by adding a narrow leather or composition heel two or three inches high, not under the natural heel, but so much forwards under the foot that its real pressure is largely transmitted to the middle, that is, to the weakest part ef the antero-posterior arch. Nothing can be more senseless if any moderate amount of walking power is