The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1907-08-03
FOOT COMFORT AND
: :. HOW TO GET IT

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To keep a woman good tempered
her feet must be made comfortable,
but SO few of the sex have any idea Of
how to avoid trouble in this direction
that one is forced to the conclusion
that this particular part of the female
form di, inc is sadly neglected. There
Is no doubt about It, women abuse
their feet shamefully. They treat them
rs they would never dream of treating
any other part Of their body. They
disfgnre them and make them. tender;
they wear shoes that are. too short
and heels that are too high, and to
make things worse they walk improp-
erly.
Walking is responsible for more
irregularities of the feet than any
thing else. About one woman in 500
knows what is the correct position for
the foot in walking. This well in.
formed person keeps her feet practi-
cally parallel to- each other when she
moves them and when she stands.
She never toes out. There was time
when toeing out was quite the correct
and smart thing. Children were told
to keep this position of tho feet at
school, and the wider the angle De-
tween the toes the letter the position
they believed. But science has already
started a crusade against this angular
toeing cut position, and 1t backs up
its statement that the parallel foot is
the correct position by saying that
broken and displaced arches frequent
" result from to'7inss ont.
There is nothing more painful than
an arch that is beginning to drop. It
makes walking almost impossible and
standing excrutiating agony. And the
trouble is that so few persons have
any idea of what causes the pain. II
you have weak arches or arches that
give you trouble, and you have not
adopted the supports recommended by
the specialists, walk for a while with
the feet almost parallel and notice the
difference. In toeing out the strain
comes in the wrong place. It should
faA through the center of the foot, and
with the feet spread, apart at an angle
Of As to go degrees, the weight and
strain are thrAwn on the inner side of
tho foot, and particularly or the arch
The bones Of the arch are being con-
stantly pressed downward, 80 there is
no wonder that in time the arch dis
appears and the foot becomes typi-
cal fiat one, painful and ugly, or else
the bones of the arch become displac-
ed and make little knobs ON the in
step or at the side Of the foot.
The shoe recommended ty ortno-
pedists is supplied with a straight
sole on the inner side, so that when
the feet are placed together the soles
touch from heel to toe. While this
may be the acme of comfort to men,
It is not shoe designed 10 enhance
the smartness Of feminine costume
so few women who understand its
value have the coursge to wear it
However, the ordinary shoe answers
very we'll If 1t is worn properly.
There are excellent exercises recon
mended by specialists for the i'm
provem@nt of the shape of the foot and
to strengthen the much abused arch
One advises women to practice tiptoe
exercises every day. He suggests
that they stand with; their bare feel
fiat on the floor and with them paral
lei, then to rise to the, very tips Of the
toes slowly and gradually sink back
fhrOwiny tho weight 'Of tho hodv m
the outer edges of the feet. This ex
ercise tends to give elasticity to the
muscles Of the feet, to work some thai
are usually neglected, and to teach one
how ito use the feet in walking. Oh
course, the exercise exaggerates the
movement, but it is practically the
same motion used in walking. If this
exercise is practiced say fifty time:
daily, in a few weeks there will be {
noticeable improvement in the wall
and carriage. It is a good thing fo]
women to remember that elasticity Of
the muscles, especially in walking
suggests youth.
Heels were ordinarily adopted fo1
the purpose of rendering walking cas-
Ter. They served to throw the body
slightly forward and to facilitate the
muscle action of the leg. When the
heels are high and small enough to in
sufficiently support the foot then thei1
object is defeated, and, instead of as
sisting, they interfere with the com
fort and freedom Of walking.
The perfect, or : normal, foot has
straight toes that arc separated slight
ly and the great toe. which is slight,
shorter than the second >toe.' stands
away. from its neighbor> in a yer,
marked way. When : placed side b,
side tho foot nh oil 4 fonnl, fran, 1Soo1.