Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-07-27
THE FEMININE FOOT.
How Ili-Made Caters, Dancing, and
ROpe-Skipping Destroy the Arch
of the Instep.

One of the Oldest orthopedc surgeons in
New York told World reporter that the
number of cases of splayed feet in the city was
large and rapidly increasing.
What in the world are splayed feet? y
asked the reporter.
''Why, splayed foot is a fiat foot or one
in which the arch of the instep has been bro
kengdown.'
"Pray, why should people living in the
city of New York break down the arches Of
their insteps?"
''They do it by wearing high-heeled shoes.
OF course, / am speaking of young girls and
and misses, and not of grown-up persons of
either sex. Now, the misses and young Ia
dies of France wear heels that are even
higher than we are accustomed to see III this
country. But the heel of the French shoe
is placed well forward, almost under the
middle of the foot, so that the arch OF the in
step is supported just as the span OF bridge
is sustained by tower or abutment unler
the middle Of the span. Our shOellakers
place the heel further back. This lengthens
the span and increases the strain"
do you often come across these cases of
broken down insteps?'
'They are by no means uncommon. They
are almost exclusively confined to females,
more likely is the foot to suffer-.
What is the difference in the appearance
of pair of feet that are splayed and pair
that are not splayed?'
AL the difference in the world. The nat
ural foot is beautifully arched in the center,
especially in females. A person who has a
high instep has as good a right to be proud
Of it as any person with classic features has
to be proud of the image that he sees reflect
ed when he looks at the mirror. Splayed
feet are more common among the peasants
Of some Of the European countries where
the people are obliged to do hard work, such
as carrying heavy burdens at q very early
age. In such cases, especially Ii the child IS
poorly fed or naturally weak, the hgaments
sustaining the arch OF the foot are very apt
to give way by degrees and then we have
pair Of feet as fiat as the paws of grizzly
bear. And yet should hardly make such q
comparison for a broken down foot is worse
than fiat; it curves the other way, so that
the toes are always pointing upwards"
And the cause of this deformity is en-
tirely attributable to the defective construc-
tion of high-heeled shoes?"
NO, not entirely. I think it is sometimes
produced by children beginning to dance al
most as soon as they are able to walk, such
as we see in some German communities. In
dancing the little youngster sometimes sus-
tains the whole weight of the body on the
tips OF the toes quarter OF an hour at
stretch. The bones at that age are little
less than cartilage, and can very easily be
deformed. AS proof Of this you only have
to recollect the Chinese practice of shaping
the feet Of their female children. | suppose
the feet Of young girls of tender constitution
are also sometimes injured in Jumping the
rope especially in such trials of endurance
where they pit themselves to see who can
Jump the greatest number of times without
stopping"
How about roHer-skating, which has
lately become SO popular?'
There can be no doubt that little ex-
ercise each day at roller-skating would
strengthen and invigorate the muscles of the
legs. But the trouble is, the girls we see
playing at roller-skating on the sidewalks
and in the parks are allowed to greatly over
do the business. The result is that instead
of well-rounded, plump, muscular limbs, we
see, after few weeks practice, a pair of at
tenuated 'broomsticks,' accompanied by a
wan expression Of the countenance and an
unnatural nervousness of the whole organi-
zation. Oh, if the people of this world
would only make use Of the common sense
with which kind Nature has endowed
them ~