Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-01-12

VERY baby is born with two heels.
r. AT the back OF each foot nature pro.
vidcs q substantial heel bone called
"os calcis."
Every normal child when it begins to
walk stands crect-body perfectly poised,
shoulders squared, middle OF its head di-
rcctly over the arch OF its feet.
Nobody puts heels on infants shoes If
you push little wedges or heels under the
baby's feet they would pry the little body
forward and the child would lose its nat
ural balance and fall on its face.
But as we grow out of infancy we are
taught 10 wear heels. Here is where the
custom of civilization puts us at a disad-
vantage with the savage who wears no
artificial heels.
Perhaps the best example Of erect car
riaGe is the West Point Army cadet. The
cadet, OF course, wears heels on his shoes
II his body balances perfectly, as it should,
standing in his bare feet, then it is out Of
balance when his shoes are on But what
OF it?
Professor Sylvester D. Fairweather, of
Scotland, has made some interesting and
suggcstivesinvestigat about heels. He
heel on mems shoes prizes the head for
ward nine inches. Ordinary heels there
fore. tip the body nine inches out of plumb
And Professor Farweathcr has figured out
that the unnatural muscular strain and out
put OF energy required 10 hold yourself
erect when you wear heels OF this height
is equal to what would be required TO carry
all the time weight OF fifty-sie pounds
In other words, when you wca: average
heels you pry your head forward nine
inches out of plumb and in forcing your
self back into erect position, you put a
constant muscle strain on yourself equal
TO. carrying two fourteenquart pals OF
water all day long.
This is, Of course, most serious matter
with soldiers and other men whose work
keeps them on their feet for long periods
OF time. Even the most robust OIL men can
i'll afford the waste of muscular effort
which his heels cause every minute that
he is in an erect position.
The most common result Of the I'M
hygenic habit of continually wearing
heels OF even moderate height is the pain
full deformity known as fat foot
Flat foot is deformity Of the foot in
which its arch sinks down SO that the
inner edge Of the foot comes to rest upon
the ground. 1t is a very serious matter,
for unless it can be rcmedied it debars 4
person from any work or play involving
much physical activity.
How much the wearing of heels on our
shoes has 10 do with causing this ccndi-
ton is shown by the fact that when the
arches Of weakly children begin to give
away they can often be cured by making
them wear for a few months shoes having
no heels whatever.
But fiat foot, serious as it is, is by no
means the only trouble that can be caused
by our foolish efforts to improve on the
heels nature gave us.
Myalgia (musce PAIN. asthma, varicose
veins and curvature of the spine are all
frequently brought on by wearing heels
that throw our bodies several inches out
OF plumb.
Professor Fairweather is also OF the
opinion that the constant strain imposed
by wearing shoes with heels may produce
d permanent impairment OF the heart.
This type of affection is so common in
armies mat physicians call it soldiers
. heart"
1t is easy to see how the heels which
nature never intended lis to wear may
break down the arches Of the feet, and
how the continual prying OF the body out
of plumb twists the spine out Of shape and
strains certain muscles SO that they be-
come chronically painful. But just why
the heart and bronchial tubes and the
veins OF the legs should suffer from the
same cause Is not at first glance so clear.
The incompetence of the aortic valve