The Republican journal., 1881-06-23
High Heels and Lame Backs.

A reporter crossing the Fulton Ferry some DAYS
ago, was made an unwilling listener to some fem
mime condolences on backache AS all women and
the greater part of their men folks are directly or
indirectly interested in the subject, the reporter
visited man of science who was named by one of
the young ladies as having cured her trouble
''Oh yes, said the doctor, backache is very
common among women; more than two thirds OF
them suffer from it, But there is one kind of this
trouble. caused by prevailing fashion, which wO-
men ought not to allow themselves to suffer from
"Are you specialist for fashionable backache p
The doctor laughed. Il will tell you all about
it, said he Three years ago fashionable young
lady called upon me saying that her back was very
lame, and had been so for considerable time, the
pain had lately so greatly increased that she be-
came frightened about herself. She had been
obliged to shorten promenades she said, was al
most incapable of dancing and her life was gradu-
ally becoming a burden. She had tried every
thing and taken medicine all the time, but-and
then she broke down IL such way that | began
to suspect hysteria.
''She looked tired, and her face bore an expires
sion of pain and dependency which was not com
patlble with her years-she was about 23-nor
her evidences OF constitutional force, which |
judge to be strong. confess was at loss to ac
count for her trouble, and close questioning gave
me no indication for treatment. ! at last prescrib
ed a tonic-on general principles asked her
to call in about week When she appeared again
glance sutficed to show me that she was no bet
and down the office in nervous excitement, eX-
claiming that she would never get well, she knew
she wouldn't, DC. As looked a certain pecuarity
in her walk led me to think that there might be
some spinal trouble, and | commenced cross ex
animation which she brought to a sudden close by
saying Why several of my friends are suffering
just as am, but they are not yet so worn out with
the pain we cannot all have the spinal complaint
can weE
IL thought it impossil lie of course" continued
the doctor, and the interview ended by my ask
ing her to call again on the next day and bring one
of her friends with her, when would make anoth-
effort to discover the real of the trouble.
| had in fact made up my mind that some pecu-
liarlty in dress was at the root ct the difficulty
The ladies caledan had hardly traversed the office
before ! observed in patient number two the same
ldiosyncrasy in walking which had seen in the
first patient. | was not long in discovering that
the real difficulty lay in the high and tapering
heels of my patients CATERS. Closer examination
revealed the fact that there difference in the
height of the beot heels of the two ladies' and |
found that my first patient who was the one
who was the greater sufferer, was the one whose
CATERS possessed the higher heels. There was
nothing to do but to prescribe slippers and
woollen stockings for q week, to be followed by
the wearing of shoes having low, broad heels
"And it this treatment which cured the
backache?"
"All signs of lameness disappeared within
eleven days, and my first patient of this kind to-
gether with many who have followed her, regain
ed their health and strength There are many
physiological reasons why undue elevation of the
heel must cause trouble 1t will suffice to say that
it serves to throw forward the contents of the alb
donina cavity and the strain upon the muscles,
nerves and cords more or less connected with or
surrounding the back subjected to unusual
strain in resisting the forward impulse Of course
in such cases lame back is not Of itself disease,
but only the indication of deep seated trouble,
which is sometimes difficult to deal with Ladies
should be warned that this fashion in heels is Ger
tain to bring them-sooner or later-great trouble.
If they must adhere to the prevailing style they
should take care to wear slippers on every posi-
BILE occasion which the sacred duties they owe to
fashion may permit. That person may as well
be ont OF the world as out of the fashion is a law
more nexorable in the minds ofmany women than
those Of nature or health" N. Y. Sun.