The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-09-24
SHORTENED TENDON or
ACHILLES

The heel cord, tendo calcaneus, or
tendon OF Achilles, Is the thickest
and strongest tendon or sinew IN
the body. II Is the common tendon
Of the gastrocnenius and stoleus
muscles which are the chief muscles
OF the calf. Contraction OF these
muscles extends or straightens out
the foot on the leg, and this Is Inn
portant In propelling the body for
ward In walking or running.
The gastrocneemius and soleus
and the Achilles tendon are nor
maliy elastic enough TO permit lex
lon OF the foot on the leg to an ana
gle OF 70 degrees. Many persons,
however, have q shortened heel cord
and cannot fiex the foot to less than
Q right angle 600 degrees) or sone-
thing not TO less than 100 degrees.
This contraction Of the tendon Of
Achilles Is not enough to produce
the deformity known as talipes
equinus (club-foot In which only the
ball Of foot rests on the ground I,
but It makes the victim walk like
0 horse, o kneesprung horse. Medi-
col name for this functional Grip
pling Of the foot Is Skaters foot.
One with Skaters foot cannot
comfortably walk barefoot or with
low heels, but prefers high heels.
He or she cannot take long steps,
but has TO amble along In o char
acteristic trot. As rule the foot
appears high-arched and short.
Walking causes aching or pain IN
thighs, knees, calves and underneath
the instep-glib merchants who
have had q mail-order course In
diagnosis and treatment Of diseases
and abnormalities OF locomotion,
generally infer from the pain In the
sole that the transverse or some
other mysterious arch requires spe-
cial support and the simple Gus
toner thinks this Is q pretty SEN
sible idea-for q few months.
Prolonged illness or confinement
TO bed from an injury Is one cause
Of Skaters foot, in cases where the
feet are allowed TO remain In the
foot.drop attitude or heavy covers
are not kept of the toes. Certain
illnesses affecting the nerve-muscu-
lar control may cause the trouble,
notably poliomyelitis. Frequent or
habituai wearing Of French heels BY
growing girls Is o common cause OF
the trouble. Good rule for any
woman who has TO don such freak
footwear for an occasion: devote 0
few minutes TO fiexing the feet on
the legs Ito less than q right angle
as soon as you can take the funny
shoes of.
In mild cases the shortened gas
trocnemius and SoleuS muscles and
their common tendon the heel cord
may DO gradually stretched BY the
use OF apparatus especially designed
for the purpose. Regular daily ex-
ercise In climbing and descending
stairs or q hill barefoot or In moe
casins or heelless sneaks correctS
the trouble In many cases. Or
merely coming down on from ex-
tremely high heels by gradual or
easy gtages-wearing progressively
lower heels from month to month
WiAA osEVo tAAo tAPSoo - Usss SeeesS
Is adopted early enough.
In chronic and severe disability or
gripping from contraction Of the
tendon Of Achilles II Is necessary 10
iengthen the tendon by plastic OPP
grafton. Patient can resume use Of
the foot In three weeks.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Have Some Mere Cheese
Are there streptococci In cheese9
Would II be dangerous TO eat cheese
that contains thetn7 Can they DO
seen with the naked eyer II not,
how can one tell whether cheese
contains any streptococci? tMrs. w.
j. W.
Answer-No. Everyone should eat