The straightening of the great toe in the manner previously described will probably do more toward the relief and cure of bunions than any other remedy. The material of a shoe for that purpose should, of course, be soft—the softest kinds of calfskin are good—but not of too yielding a nature, or the toe and joint will force it into their own abnormal shape in spite of the form of the shoe, unless this can be prevented by a stiffening piece of sole-leather at the ball (see Chapter Four), because the parts tend to assume their old position, and do so, as far as the leather will allow. With the ordinary shoe, all that can be done, is to give the foot the softest of leather—buck-skin, when obtainable, is the best—and make the shoe over a last having also a big joint upon it, made of sole-leather, in the exact place to fit that of the foot, and thus allow it plenty of room.
The callosities that come upon the heel, instep, or other part of the foot, can almost always be lifted or scraped off, without the necessity of using caustic, and there is less probability of their re-appearing after the cause is removed than in the case of corns. But if the pressure that caused them first is continued, of course they grow again. When they are so bad as to make it difficult to remove them without softening, they can be subjected to the same treatment which softens corns.
Sore insteps, big joints, and corns, when no positive means are adopted for their cure or removal, may often be made tolerably comfortable by having the shoe carefully adapted to fit them. This is done by making leather corns or joints on the lasts before the shoes are made. Particular places in a shoe can also, generally, be stretched, so as to render them much more easy.[9]
Trusting that those readers who are not able to avail themselves of the services of a professional chiropodist, will here find a sufficient guide for the management of ordinary difficulties of this kind, attention will next be called to a re-statement of some of the ideas and points of argument previously advanced in this treatise.
FOOTNOTES:
[8] The bursa mucosa is a synovial membrane lining the joint, and secreting a lubricating fluid, like similar membranes in other joints.
[9] It will, perhaps, not be amiss here to give a cure for chilblains, taken from a recent work upon the “Movement Cure,” by Dr. George H. Taylor. It consists in raising the foot, with the shoe upon it, and giving it thirty or forty smart blows upon the sole with a heavy stick of convenient length to be handled. The shock upon the foot dissipates the congestion of blood in the capillary vessels under the skin, which causes the intense itching and smart. It is so simple that every one afflicted ought to try it, and is asserted to be, with few repetitions, a permanent cure.
CHAPTER IX.
Recapitulation—Lasts for Individual Feet—Possibility of all Fee being Well Fitted in their Clothing—Ease and Grace of Movement—A Last Word for Children.
We have heretofore endeavoured to show what is the true, normal shape of the healthy foot, as recognized by science, art, and common sense; that in it the toes lie directly forward of the metatarsal bones, in the same line, having plenty of room for all of them to come to the ground, or the surface on which they tread; that there is no occasion for grown-in-nails, big joints, or corns until after the adoption of false habits in the manner of the foot’s clothing; that the elevation of the instep is made by a well-formed and distinct arch, the breaking-down of which, as manifested in the flattened instep and elongated heel, is unnatural; that all the various deformities, weaknesses, and ailments pointed out and remarked upon are so many vitiations or perversions of the foot’s condition. It has been made plain, also, that all our present habits and ways of dressing the feet tend, more or less directly and strongly, toward this depravity and distortion. We have seen that the common sole, by being curved where it should be straight—on its inside line—inevitably draws the great toe to one side, and all the toes too closely together, pushing out the joint, creating corns between and outside the toes, and lameness or bunion at the joint itself; that this tendency is increased by straight and narrow-toed soles; that it is made still worse by high heels, which pitch the foot far forward; while the practice of wearing boots and shoes that are too short makes yet another addition toward the production of the whole bad result.