Diagram 5 shows by the dotted outline the figure of a woman, age thirty-eight, who had never worn corsets, but had worn a so-called "hygienic" waist. Over this waist her skirt bands had pressed across the stomach and around the waist. The relaxation of the abdominal walls allowed the entire abdominal contents to sag forward and downward. The patient suffered from indigestion and backache. The corset, indicated by the black outline, was fitted to support the abdomen, allowing plenty of room across stomach and diaphragm. The change in posture and the relief from the feeling of weight was immediate, and the patient was able to walk and exercise much more vigorously than usual. Six months later the attitude without corsets showed marked improvement, also greater development of chest and rib-wall and better muscular tone of abdominal walls.
This case is a fair answer to the question as to whether or not women are better off without corsets. The effects of not wearing corsets In this instance were sagging abdominal walls, resulting in stomach and intestinal trouble, and faulty posture which caused constant backache. Both these conditions were corrected with the supporting corset.
