| Show Specia specialist lisi names causes of many foot disorders most foot disorders can be traced to certain anatomic defects in the he framework of the bones themselves dudley J morton M D new york I 1 maintains in a recent issue of hy geia the health magazine pointing out that such troubles trouble are usually vaguely attributed to faulty footwear or weakness of toot foot muscles and ligaments dr morton declares that they are most frequently caused by the failure of the first metat metatarsal aasal the bone of the big toe to assume its share of weight bearing and the consequent thrusting of an extra burden on the adjacent bone there are two reasons tor for this situation first the metatarsal bone may be short this shortness ss is is really an evolutionary defect dr morton mortem states in the ideal toot foot the first and second metatarsals are of the same length but when the first bone is short the whole weight falls on the slender second placing a terrific burden on its joints and causing intense abnormal strain inide the foot the second cause is laxness of the ligaments of the first metatarsal so that they permit the bone to wobble like the loose leg of a chair once more the second metatarsal is is called on to assume the brunt of the burden the author explains As a result the foot rolls inward and this uneven distribution of weight causes the condition spoken of as fallen arches or flat feet weak muscles are erroneously blamed tor for the collapse of the arch but tests have proved that the muscles which run under the arch are not directly involved in weight bearing normally only a slight effort eff ort is required of them but when the foot rolls out of its normal position and the muscular effort is vastly increased these muscles are subject to constant with resulting pain and fatigue although examination b by y xray X ray is indispensable in determining such structural defects dp D morton points out that the nature of foot ailments is often left to mere guesswork |
