How to Live Part 19

1. _Yard-arm._--While deeply inhaling (through the nose) slowly raise the arms to horizontal position, straight out from the sides; let the arms fall slowly to the sides while exhaling. The chest should be well arched forward, hips drawn backward and arms hung back of thighs while performing this exercise.

These movements should be performed at the rate of about 10 per minute.

3. _Tree-swaying._--While in the standing position, thrust the arms straight above the head, then sway from side to side, moving from the hips upward, the arms loosely waving like the branches of a tree.

(Sargent.)

4. _Leg-lifting._--a.s.sume the standing position, but with hands resting on the hips. Raise the right thigh until at right angles with the body, leg at right angles with thigh, thrust the leg straightforward to a horizontal position, then sweep the leg back to standing posture. Repeat with the left leg. (Sargent.)

5. _Signal Station._--a.s.sume the standing posture with hands on hips.

Thrust the right arm straight upward, while lifting the left leg outward and upward and rigidly extended. Lower the limbs and repeat on other side. (Sargent.)

6. _Crawling Position._--Rest on hands and knees, thighs and arms at right angles to the body, spine straight. Reach forward with arm and follow with thigh and leg of same side; repeat on other side. Knee protectors can be worn during this exercise.

[Sidenote: Corrective Exercises for Flat Foot]

Draw two parallel chalk lines about three-fourths the length of one foot apart and practise walking on them until the habit of toeing straight is acquired.

When standing, do not keep the heels together and toes out, as in the ordinary att.i.tude prescribed by athletic manuals, and the military att.i.tude of "attention." Correct posture is more like the military att.i.tude "at rest"--namely, heels apart, toes straight forward, the sides of the feet forming two sides of a square. This att.i.tude gives stability and poise and insures a proper distribution of the weight of the body upon the structures of the feet.

This straightforward direction of the feet with heels apart is also noted in Spartan sculpture.

Those who stand a great deal should avoid distorted positions, such as resting the weight on the sides of the feet, or on one foot with the body sagging to one side. The body weight should be kept evenly supported on both feet.

[Sidenote: Consult Specialist]

When the condition of flat foot is found, the advice of an Orthopedic surgeon (specialist on bone deformities, etc.) should be sought, as often a plaster cast of the foot is required in order that a proper brace be adjusted to a.s.sist in the cure. In some cases, operative treatment may be needed.

The condition is one which should be treated by a physician or surgeon, and not by a shoemaker. The ordinary arch supports supplied by shoemakers do not cure flat foot. Shoes for such feet should be made to order, and have a straight internal edge.

All such measures must be supplemented by proper exercises, and the correction of faulty position of the feet while walking.

Unless "toeing out" is corrected by exercise and a proper shoe, an arch brace will do more harm than good.

The disturbances of health due to weak feet are manifold, just as are those due to eye-strain. Pain in the feet, legs and back, often mistaken for rheumatism, and improperly treated with drugs and liniment, chronic general fatigue and nervous depression are often due to this rather common affection.

[Sidenote: Detecting Weak Feet]

To detect weak feet, note whether there is a tendency to toe out when walking, and a bending inward of the ankles when standing or walking, or a disposition to walk on the inner side of the feet, as shown by the uneven wearing of the shoe. This condition may be present with a high instep, and no evidence of flat foot. As flat foot develops the inward bend of the ankle is easily apparent. The inner hollow of the foot disappears and the entire sole rests flat upon the ground when the shoes are removed.

The earlier in life this condition of weak feet is detected, the better for the individual. After middle life, a cure, especially in extremely heavy people, may be difficult or impossible, if the arches are completely broken down. Much relief, however, can be afforded by proper braces, fitted scientifically, by means of a plaster cast.

In young people, a cure can almost invariably be effected, and after a time braces and supports are not needed.

It is a very grave mistake to suppose that in such cases so-called arch supports will either cure flat foot or that people with weak feet are necessarily condemned to wear such supports throughout life.

The cure is sometimes effected in a short time, but it may take a year or two, and with proper management it can usually be accomplished, unless there is some unusual complication.

The prevention of flat foot consists largely in affording due exercise of the leg and foot muscles and tendons by plenty of walking and running, especially in childhood, and especially on rough ground. Flat pavements are, indirectly, one cause of flat foot.

SECTION IV

NOTES ON ALCOHOL

The influence of alcohol on longevity can be most satisfactorily determined by the records of life insurance companies wherein the death-rates among those abstaining from alcohol have been computed as compared to those of the general cla.s.s of insured lives. In considering such figures it is well to bear in mind that the general or non-abstaining cla.s.s comprises only those who were accepted as standard healthy risks and so far as could be determined were moderate in their use of alcohol. Such experiences have been carefully compiled by the following companies:

United Kingdom Temperance and General Provident Inst.i.tution of London;[1][K] The Sceptre Life;[2] The Scottish Temperance Life of Glasgow;[3] The Abstainers and General Life of London;[4] The Manufacturers' Life of Canada;[5] Security Mutual Life of Binghamton, N. Y.[6]

[K] The notes ("[1]" etc.) refer to the publications listed at the close of the section.

[Sidenote: Comparative Mortality Among Abstainers and Non-Abstainers]

The comparative mortality among abstainers and non-abstainers in several of these companies is shown in the charts exhibited in this section.

It is probable that the heavier mortality among non-abstainers as compared to abstainers is not wholly due to the chemical effect of alcohol on the tissues, but in some degree to collateral excesses (especially those resulting in infection from the diseases of vice) and a more careless general manner of living engendered by alcoholic indulgence; that, furthermore, those who indulge in so-called moderation are open to greater temptation to increased indulgence and final excess than those who abstain altogether.

It has often been alleged, however, that the lower mortality among abstainers was due solely to a more conservative habit of living, and that this cla.s.s is largely composed of people in favorable or preferred occupations, such as clergymen and teachers.

The experience of the Security Mutual of Binghamton, N. Y., does not support such a postulate. During a twelve years' experience the mortality among the abstainers was one-third that of the tabular expectation, and their occupations were cla.s.sified as follows:

Clergymen 4 per cent.

Farmers 19 " "

Clerks 15 " "

Miscellaneous (earning $15 to $25 per week) 62 " "

Mr. Roderick McKenzie Moore, Actuary of the United Kingdom Temperance and General Provident Inst.i.tution,[7] has this to say regarding the abstainers' cla.s.s in that company:

The total abstainer cla.s.s was not "nursed" or favored to produce a low mortality. So far as could be determined (and many of the risks came in personal contact with the officers) they were of the same general cla.s.s as the non-abstainers. They were written by the same group of agents, for the same kind of policies, for the same average amounts, _and were in the same general walks of life_, and of the same general financial condition. They were almost equal in numbers to the general cla.s.s and did not form a small high grade section of the policyholding body. On the contrary, greater care was exercised in the selection of the non-abstainers because of the less favorable experience antic.i.p.ated on them, and many borderline risks were accepted in the abstaining cla.s.s because of a feeling that their abstinence would neutralize some unfavorable factor.

UNITED KINGDOM TEMPERANCE AND GENERAL PROVIDENT INSt.i.tUTION OF LONDON HEALTHY MALES--WHOLE LIFE POLICIES 1866-1910

[Ill.u.s.tration: graph]

EXPECTED MORTALITY________________________________________100%

NON-ABSTAINERS, RATIO ACTUAL TO EXPECTED MORTALITY........ 91%

[L]ABSTAINERS, RATIO ACTUAL TO EXPECTED MORTALITY--.--.--. 66%

MORTALITY AMONG NON-ABSTAINERS--STANDARD RISKS--37.7% HIGHER THAN AMONG ABSTAINERS

[L] THAT IS, WHERE--ACCORDING TO THE MORTALITY TABLES UPON WHICH PREMIUMS ARE BASED--100 WERE EXPECTED TO DIE, ONLY 66 ACTUALLY DIED.