The morning news., 1889-04-13
g proPLE WITH WEAK ANKLES.
Tbev Would be Less Numerousif If More
Laced Shoes Were Worn.
Khonl the Woshinqtot Stal


Fyons the Washington Star.
nurinr the last couple of years Washing
.on nbvsicians have had their attention at
+racted by the marked increase in the num-
bar NJ cases of injuries to the ankle coming
- +barn for treatment. Most of the suffer
ors have been girls and women, and the
;niuries have ranged in seriousness from
.,onle strain or sprain to fracture of the
email bones of the leg and rupture of the
'0iIn'i 1'in nv practrice during the last five or
civ montbs,n said a young physician to a
-enorter. 81 have had no less than thirteen
cases of injury to the ankle. This may
not seem an alarmingly large number, but
Ivben YOU come to consider that my prac-
t;ra is small and that am only one of a
oonnIe of hundred doctors in Washington,
tbe aggregate of cases for the whole town
ynust be something enormous. L have no
+o1bt that the other doctors would report
Ute as many of this class of cases in pro-
y3ortion to their practice as do, for there
Is no reason why people with injured ankles
sbould come to me rather than any one
aIea In fact, l know that my experience is
not exceptional from talking with other
rbvsicians. who have had their attention
armed to this subject just as | have had.
Then druggists have spoken to me OF the
rowing demand for the big rubber bands
Ighich people with weak ankles, or who
have had their ankles injured, use as sup
nrrts | have talked with a number of
druggists on the subject "a they all tel
the same story. There actually seems to be
a sort of epidemic of injuries to the ankle
in Washington"
"Have YOU discovered the cause of the
troubleg' the reporter inquired
"WelJ. my own experience and what other
musicians and the druggists have told me
naturally set me to looking into the queS-
tion with a good deal of interest. Other
nbvsican didn't seem able to offer any ex-
planation OF the phenomenon. NelGner olu
the druggists"
''There's nothing lacking in the diet of
Washington people or in the water and
other beverages we drink here that would
tend to make our bones weak, is there, doc
torm asked the reporter, as vauge recol-
lection came up in his mind of reading
somewhere about a community IN which,
owing to a lack of bone-forming material
in the soil, the people broke all to pieces
when they happened to fall or were com
PEELED to jump from any hight
THE REAL CAUSE.
The doctor smiled amusedly at the ques-
ton. mo | found an easier explanation
than that" he continued, or at least l think
have My belief is that the present style
of footgear is entirely responsible for the
trouble. The low-cut and buttoned shoes
now almost universally worn by mon as
well as women give no support whatever to
the ankle Worse still are the high-heeled
slippers which are generally worn by ladies
with full dress There has been an outcry
against the latter for years, but think al
most as much mischief is done by the low
cut and high-buttoned shoes that have not
high heels. All of them leave the bones of
the ankle loose and without support"
What sort of shoes would you recon-
meudm
"rhe old-fashioned laced shoe. which fits
snugly around the ankle and holds the bones
and muscles compactly together at that
Joint When wearing these shoes you are
much less apt to turn on your ankle, and if
you should happen to do so, the strain is
distributed pretty evenly all along the
small bone up to the knees and among the
muscles and tendons at the ankle. When
the latter is left without artificial support
the strain Is thrown on the small bone of
the leg Just above its articulation with the
foot. In nine cases out of ten, when this
bone is fractured, it is at this spot, showing
where the greatest strain comes, and the
need Of some support which will keep the
small bone well in opposition to the large
one"
But why should there be a special weak
hess OF JnlS part OF our dndUony! inquired
the reporter.
We'll, the causes of it are not as plain as
they might be-" the doctor answered
Even the medical books do not throw any
light on the subject. l have consulted a
dozen works for some hint at an explanation
but not one of them gives it. 1t think it
probable the
NEED OF AN ARTIFICIAL SUPPORT
for the ankle is due largely to degeneracy Of
the muscles caused by the style of shoes the
moderns wear. All our shoes now adays are
made with stiff shank under the ball of
tho foot This prevents to very consider
able extent the natural play of the bones of
the foot, and the adjacent muscles in conse-
quence are not used to an extent that would
Mt them for bearing any extra strain in ad-
dltlon to that imposed by the weight of the
body and the exertion of locomotion. Thus
when this part OF our anatomy is left with
cut artificial support of some kind, injuries
are apt to result. When patients come to me
complaining Of weak ankles or injuries to
Tue ankle at once require what sort of
snoes they wear. lu almost every case |
md they wear low-cut shoes or button gait
erS' and that they used to wear lace shoes a
rev years ago l at once prescribe the old
style laced shoe for cases Of this kind 1t
usually has the desired effect without other
treatment where the trouble was merely
weakness of the anklesn