Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-06-08
Flat Foot
Now Called
Foot Strain
More Emphasis Placed
on ForeIee Muscles
By DIR. LOGAN CLENDENIN(

by In LOOAN SE<SND&<xS A3N0
THE foot is made up of a num-
u Der of small bones arranged
by nature very ingeniously to
allow for the movement Of the
foot in many different directions.
When one considers the many
twists and turns and attitudes
that the foot has to assume in
walking. standing. running a
sewing machine or driving an
automobile. IT becomes no won
der that the mechanism should
break down.
The result of any such break
down Is pain. either In the foot
or in the calf muscles or in the
knee on prolonged standing and
walking. or sometimes general
fatigue and irritability without
any special localization in the
foot.
All of this used to be called
fiat foot" and Is now generally
called foot strain.
The nature of the difficulty
used to be ascribed to q break
down in the arches Of the bones
of the foot, but with the intro
duction Of the term foot strain."
more emphasis is put on the
muscles Of the foreleg.
These large muscles send ten
dons down to the toes and
around the arch Of the foot and
IL Ii their tone and action which
keeps the arches of the bones Of
the feet In place.
MORE often than anything
U1 else foot strain Is due to
weakness and firing of these
muscles.
To show how common this
foot strain IL, In a group of
probationer .nurSes there was an
average Of one nurse q week
obliged to be off duty on account
Of foot strain.
Probationer nurses, when they
begin their career, rather sud-
denly change from habits where
they can rest q good part Of the
time. to long hours with much
standing.
Following this line of thought.
orthopedic surgeons believe that
exercise to develop the muscles
of the foreleg are far more
valuable In correcting foot strain
than special shoes. arch sup
ports or any Of the old-fashioned
cumbersome appliances.
These exercises must be
carried out persistently.
The arch supports may give
temporary relief while the exer-
cises are being done to strengthen
the muscles.
THIS new conception of fat
l. foot invalidates many of our
conceptions, because painful feet
may occur either in flat feet,
moderately arched feet or
highly arched feet.
In fact, many candidates for
the city police and fire depart
ments who appear to- have flat
feet have really very strong
feet and use them perfectly.
When many of these men
stand. they certainly have flat
feet. but when they walk or run
their weight-bearing lines are
perfect.
This idea also has some bear
ing on the question of modern
shoes and high heels which COM
monty come in for a berating
from hygienists, but the ques-
ton of whether a shoe is HARM
full or not depends on the kind
of foot and the kind of foreleg
muscle that a wearer has.
A PROMINENT ort h opedic
"A surgeon says about the vari-
Gus attempts to legislate the
heights Of heels that zone may
as well try to legislate window
glass for spectacles. because no
two feet are alike"
According to some insurance
companies, growing pains in
children are due to rheumatism.
My friend. the orthopedic sur
geon. says that 999 out of 1000
cases are due to foot strain.
BY strengthening the muscles
of the forelegs, il is possible to
do away with the necessity of
artificial support of the feet in
a great many cases.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS
V. M.-Should I train my child
to use his right hand instead of
his left one?
The child Is just 1 year old
and seems TO persist in using the