[feetback (OP)]

Hi everyone,

The purpose of this yearly post is to stimulate interest and discussion about the biomechanical effects of shoes on "age-related" degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.  Chiropodist Dr. Simon J. Wikler pioneered efforts to understand the influences of shoes in the 1950's, but his work was neglected during the subsequent drug- and diet-based approaches to medicine.  However, the prolific footwear historian and podiatrist Dr. William A. Rossi clearly demonstrated throughout his publications that shoes influence the posture of the human body.  Therefore, using the posture-based approaches to medicine of the distinguished orthopedist Dr. Joel E. Goldthwait, I have expanded Dr. Wikler's insightful work to include a variety of illnesses and conditions whose causes remain unknown.

Alzheimer's disease is just one example of diseases that are related to the use of footwear, especially since it affects women disproportionately more than men.  Women's footwear is more physically deforming to the feet because of higher heels, pointier toes, and smaller sizes, but any shoe might have a more deforming effect on the lighter build of a woman's body.  Even the first clinical case, presenting to Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1901, was a woman called "Auguste D." who was born on May 16, 1850, during the last year that shoes were made completely by hand.  The second clinical case of what became known as Alzheimer's disease was a man, "Johann F." born about a year later on March 8, 1853.  Auguste and Johann were among the first children growing up in the manufactured shoe era following Issac Singer's 1851 sewing machine, which made modern shoes widely available for the first time in the history of mankind.

You may find my thesis regarding shoes and disease on the Internet at: newbielink:http://www.shoebusters.com [nonactive]
Thank you very much for considering my novel approach.

James Semmel
Albuquerque, New Mexico

previous year's thread: newbielink:http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=3965.0 [nonactive]

[GBSB]

Hi James,
I find your web page in December 2005 an since than I have on my favourite. I find that you done great research.

Facts presented on your web page shows correlation but not causation.
I think that we can’t say that shoes are cause of Alzheimer’s disease as long as we don’t know underlining mechanism of this disease but your research clearly shows high level of correlation between shoes and incidence of this and many another illnesses and disease that you mentioned on your web page..
Understanding underlining mechanism of each illness will enable to conclude in witch extent nowadays shoes are responsible for particularly illness.

If you find interesting I’ll be glad to continue discussion.

Luka Tunjic
http://www.freewebs.com/lukatunjic/