TO: All vision researchers, doctors, and patients.

The purpose of this yearly post is to stimulate interest and
discussion about the biomechanical effects of shoes on "age-related"
degenerative conditions, such as vision problems.  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.

Vision problems are just examples of conditions that result from the
habitual use of shoes, particularly during the formative, childhood
years.  It really makes no sense for humans to have four relatively
sharp senses of hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling, but an
extremely poor-quality fifth one of vision.  Indeed, the
distinguishing factor is that none of the other senses share the
fantastic muscular control necessary for proper organic functioning.
The eye is thus directly subject to unnatural postural strain with
imbalanced feet.  After walking around in shoes for several years--and
it does not take very long at all--the multiple, tiny muscles of a
person's eyes have been subjected to tremendous postural stress.
Faulty body mechanics seems to be responsible for myopia, hyperopia,
astigmatism, presbyopia, strabismus, amblyopia, or other degenerate
conditions, but shoes apparently also influence internal diseases such
as cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and others.

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

James Semmel
Albuquerque, New Mexico