Dress and care of the feet /

by John Lord Peck

Natural Position of the Toes—Anatomical Argument—correspondence of Foot and Hand—Necessity of Freedom for the Toes—Criticism on Forms of Sole.

One of the worst of the distortions of the feet is the obliquity or bending of the great toe toward the outside, a fault with which several troublesome affections are often connected, besides the more prominent one, the enlargement of the joints.

To be convinced that this is a deformity, and of the extent to which it is so, let any one notice the shape and natural position of a child’s foot, before it has been altered by forcing into a falsely-shaped shoe. The toes will be found lying straight forward in the line of the foot’s length, with plenty of room for them to touch the ground without pressing against each other. This is plainly the case with every barefoot boy who is running about the streets or over the farm. There are no cramped toes; on the contrary, they sometimes appear to be separated more than necessary, and the great toe, instead of inclining toward the outside of the foot, seems to be almost turning to the opposite direction.

All art, as already noticed in the first chapter, recognizes the right of the toes to sufficient space to touch the surface upon which they tread. It does not crowd them or turn them aside from their natural straightness.[1] An observation of the best specimens of statuary will confirm the assertion, that the great toe ought, naturally, to lie pointing directly forward, in such a position that a line drawn from the inner surface of the heel past the ball or joint will be nearly parallel to it. It would seem that such a statement is so nearly self-evident that every one must instantly admit its truth, and ought to be aware of it without argument. Yet we doubt that it is commonly recognized, or that the mass of people ever really think of it. Nor do we suppose those who have thought of it have considered the matter to be of any importance, unless they happened to be afflicted with some of the troubles that accompany toe-distortion; nor often then with any idea of removing or preventing those evils. It is certain that the shoe manufacturer and the last-maker have not had such a supposition clearly in mind, at least with any idea of changing the shape of the last accordingly. One manufacturer who had been engaged in making boots and shoes for the feet of his customers during twenty years recently stated that, having drawings of thousands of feet, and always finding the big toe turned toward the outside, more or less, he never thought of it as being other than the foot’s normal shape. This shows how common the deformity, as well as how uncommon the thought of what is the foot’s true form according to nature.

A pamphlet called “Why the Shoe Pinches,” discussing this subject quite clearly, and with the authority of science, was written by Hermann Meyer, M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the University of Zurich. To it we are indebted for many of the most important ideas here contained, and for a presentation of the matter which first drew our earnest attention. It gives an anatomical argument, illustrated by diagrams, to show the proper form of the toes and forward part of the foot, which we will try to present in our own way.

Fig. 1.—a a, Metatarsal Bones; b, Joint.

The metatarsal bones are five of the longest bones of the foot, lying below, or in front of, what is commonly known as the instep, and filling the space between the instep and the toes, though, strictly speaking, they form a part of the whole instep. They are nearly parallel with each other, and to their forward ends the bones of the toes are attached, forming the back toe-joints, at the part called the bend of the foot. Where the great toe joins its metatarsal bone, is called the ball or inside ball; or, more strictly, it is the under surface which is so called. These metatarsal bones being straight, and so nearly parallel to each other, it is a natural inference that the toe-bones attached to them should lie straight in front of them, on the same lines, and nearly parallel to each other also. In short, they must do so, in order that when covered with flesh they shall have room to touch the ground, or bend, without interfering. This would bring all the toes, and their metatarsal bones, parallel or nearly so, with a line drawn past the whole inside of the foot. They would thus be allowed space to grow naturally, to lie side by side, and perform their proper functions without crowding or chafing, or inclining sideways in either direction. The diagram of a skeleton foot (copied from Professor Meyer’s pamphlet) will show this more plainly than words.

It is claimed by the Professor, in this little book, that a line drawn from the middle of the heel—on the sole—under the centre of the ball or joint, should pass under the middle of the great toe, through its whole length. His reasoning for this idea is thus given:

“The great toe plays by far the most important part in walking, because when the foot is raised from the ground, with the intention of throwing it forward, we first raise the heel, then rest for a second on the great toe, and in lifting this from the ground the point of it receives a pressure which impels the body forward. Thus, in raising the foot, the whole of the sole is gradually, as it were, ‘unrolled,’ up to the point of the great toe, which again receives an impetus by contact with the ground. The great toe ought, therefore, to have such a position as will admit of its being unrolled in the manner described; that is to say, it must so lie that the line of its axis, when carried backward, will emerge at the centre of the heel; and this is its position in the healthy foot.”