The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-03-08
A 10 the Arch OF the Foot. \ Sug
gestion 10 the Mothers OF Girls.

am a manufacturer o. shoes and
have. therefore, considerable interest,"
in the human foot. writes VIM. r.
Metz, in the March issue Of The
Mothers Magazine"
Very few young girls, who are In
terested in shoes, ever stop to thlnk
of the arch IF their foot or its connec-
ton with their spine DR.. Nicholas
Semi. in a paper which he read be
fore the Chicago Medical society, said
IT'S the exception. not the rule, Tor
a boy to be born with weak mack
But a majority of the girls enter in
life with weak spines. and through
neglect or ignorance, lead lives whlch
do not add to their spinal strength
as the rest of the body develops
Probably II has not occurred 70
mothers Of girls, who have suffered
from spinal weakness. how much the
arch or the foot and character uI
the shoes they wear have to do With
spinal irritations A little invest1ga-
ton of anatomy and physiology VIII
demonstrate the truth of what l as
sert.
The instep, or arch Of the foot. is
made up of twelve bones They are
so arranged and connected by joints.
muscles and nerves that they form
an arch from the extremity OF the
hGeI-BAnG 10 iiie baIlS % Allt -totS+
The astralagus, so-called because Of
its resemblance to the dice used by
the Romans forms the keystone OF
this arch, and transmits the weights,
lars shocks. ect., which 1t receives.
in one direction To the heel and in
another direction to the balls Of the
toes.
BY arrangement of the fbres and
laminae in the interior of the bones
Y,s1 hoy nF than I'm ZACH
bone follow the direction Of the two
pillars Of the foot-arch, and thus give
the greatest strength to the bones in
the directions in which II Is most
needed Any undue confinement Of
these bones will make trouble with
evry nerve of the body.
TIL spring in the arch OF the foot
is Intended to remove from all the
upper organs OF the body shocks from
conclusion. A young >grl. skipping
rope excessively on a hard pavement,
faints. suffers from nausea. and her
spinal column throbs. The explana-
ton is that her abuse of carrying away
the severe shocks and these reacted
on the nervous system.
At six years OF age, the little girl
may have a simple exercise every
morning which is now quite we'll
known TO the tots of many kinder
gartens, where the body is built up
into harmony with the mind stand
erect on the hare feet every morning
after leaving your bed, and raise the
body twenty times on the toes. The
body must be erect, the shoulders
easily squared. the hands and arms
by the sides Of the body. heels and
foot arch lifted fairly off the floor
as high as they can be without pro
ducing a tendency to fall forward
Descend slowly after each upward
movement and raise slowly agar
without jerks. At six years of age
twenty movements of this kind each
day. three hundred and sixfy-five days
of the year. will be sufficient to give
the arch new sustaining powers Al
ten years OF age, the toe raising move
ment may be increased to fifty up.
lifts each morning. and at fifteen and
sixteen. to one hundred or one hun.
bred and fifty.
A further treatment Of tho arch o.
the foot. which may be begun in early
years. Is the hand massage Battle
he feet In cold or tepid salt water
Try thoroughly. then apply olive oil
ma rub 1t in with the tips OF thu
fingers until the skin Is warmly sof
and dry. This massage treatment may
! ne taken two or three times week
where the arch shows a tendency &c
swell or be sore. The salt water pu'
q