[Report 1951] / School Medical Officer of Health, Salford.

  • Salford (England). Council.
Date:
1951
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1951] / School Medical Officer of Health, Salford. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/76 (page 21)
    it is these shoes which are usually stocked. Therefore, when fitting a slim foot a shoe of the correct length appears much too big, owing to the fullness of the fitting. (1) If the foot has not been previously measured and the shoes Fig. 1. Showing the Broad and Narrow Foot Types. are fitted merely by trial and error, the tendency is to try on a less and less size until the foot appears to fill the shoe adequately. Unfortunately, by then the great toe is jammed up against the end of the toe box and the child is wearing a shoe hopelessly short. (2) Permanent injury to the nail and toe joint Fig. 2. Hallux Flexus with Painful Bursaer resulting from Faulty Fitting of Pro-Cavus Feet. Boy age 11 years. is frequently the result of this form of faulty fitting. Not only do we find that many of the shoes are fitted short and bear no relation to the foot type of the child but they are frequently very unsuitable in design, often based on freak adult styles, i.e., sling backs, peep-toe, wedge heels. (3a) (3b) (4) The shoe should follow the contours of the natural foot and the fitting should be related to the width of the foot. As we encounter both slim and broad feet in the child, shoes should be stocked in at least three fittings so that the correct fitting, as well as the correct size is available. It is the correlation of these three factors—size, type and fitting, of footwear—that seems to be the stumbling block of the shoe retailer. It must, however, be appreciated that the shoe retailer cannot afford to keep considerable capital locked up in