Pavement Pounding

[Music] no no no no no no no well folks you saw how I got here On My Feet and that's what this is all about man walks he can fly through the clouds he can roll on wheels he can be carried out on a stretcher but for the most part man walks in many years of roaming up and down the planet in Borneo Siam Paris New York Zanzibar I have seen a lot of feet civilized feat Savage feet civilized feet are the ones that face the hardest problem if feet can face anything civilized feet pound the Pavements and pay the price the world war taught us a lesson among the Americans called to the colors in the world war 49 of the physical defects were foot troubles not to mention the lads who got fallen arches hot footing it after the girls in Paris among High School boys in Milwaukee an examination showed that 46 percent were weak in their feet as well as in their studies in a leading University the sophomore class showed that 20 percent had defective feet and of men over 40 7 out of 10 are dogged by foot troubles and dogged that's the right word experts tell me that most of this is the result of ill-fitting or poorly designed shoes are but now in their pristine unencumbered Glory let's take a look at human feet I might call them human dogs except that they don't bark these are perfect feet the human foot is so intricate that I'm out of my depth two feet out so let's let a scientist tell us a podiatrist Dr Joseph lelethal founder of the foot clinics of Boston how about a doctor it is a privilege to impart knowledge of the foot to you who can use it so helpful perfect foot always both strength and efficiency towards arches the most important one the long Arch extends forward from the heel bone the oscauses one of the group of seven chunky Bones called the tassels and here is the highest and weakest point of this Arch the front part of this long Arch consists of five long bones The Meta titles they are hinged in Back to the tassels and in front to the phalanges are toe bones just behind the heads of the metatarsals the bones form another arch called the metatarsal Arch the entire weight of the body Bears down on these stragglets by way of the bones of the lower leg whose attendant muscles are attached by tendons to the foot bones bands of incredibly tough and elastic tissue called ligaments pull the bones in place while the network of resilient muscles provides further support blood vessels of course are needed to feed the tissue and an intricate nerve system still further complicates the anatomy of the foot well doctor you have given us the anatomical side of it now let's watch the foot in action we do this all the time but we don't think much about it unless we've got a couple of corns the heel Rises and shifts the weight to the ball of the foot and our old friend the big toe is the fulcrum on which the coordinating muscles get their leverage to propel the body forward the Indian Sitting Bull when he wasn't sitting walked on feet that had neither corns bunions fallen arches nor shoes ah but Sitting Bull walked on soft foot molding turf whereas we pound the pavement so modern man must be shot not in the moccasin of the Indian the sandals of the Arab or the loop the loop shoes of the Afghan modern tell the story each foot Bears half the burden 90 pounds apiece that's when we are standing still but modern man doesn't stand still he's always going places strolling down the Avenue pacing the floor with little Elmer at 2 am and dodging the bill collector then each foot takes the entire weight each foot hits the hard surface and the hard surface hits back and the foot takes it on the chin or on the ball beyond the fourth metatarsal now see what happens when the weight of the body presses down on the bare foot the weight is received on three bearing areas on the heel on the ball of the foot and the outer border this is the impression of a strong normal foot the kind we should have the kind Chief Wacom fast has now see the imprint of a foot with stretched ligaments and weakened muscles That's The Telltale track of a weak foot it's what the doctor calls a flattened longitudinal Arch and it makes feet Tire easily if such feet are not properly supported they sure do hurt feet like this produce dull eggs and then the doll aches go elsewhere you often find them in remote parts of the body troubles that are mistaken for rheumatism for neuritis and all sorts of things come from feet yes poor old flat foot something that only a mother could love but let's appeal again to the Learned doctor for the scientific aspect and the Cure extremely painful condition results from the flattening of the metatarsal eyes which is the point where much serious what trouble is found the cause is usually a shoe in which the soul comes down under the center of the ball of the foot and bends up at the edges such as Soul encourages the front Arch to lower with the consequent pinching of the nerves between the toes a slight raise properly placed in the shoe bottom relieves the pain caused by this condition an early symptom of trouble in the metatarsal Arch is a painful callus under the forward heads of the metatarsal bones but remember that the weakening of the metatarsal Arch often occurs without a callus being fawned baldy Footwear can cause all these conditions and others such as hammer toes and bunions which may require surgical intervention but even when neglected for a long time much good can be accomplished by correctly fitted shoes what authorities agree that is in a scientifically designed shoe are first complete and adequate support for all weight-bearing areas and second room for the natural position of the foot when expanding the body weight and here is the answer the Cure