Doctors railed against the practice as positively harmful. Women replied that tight lacing was actually beneficial and well as enjoyable.   More than anything, observe the rule: "when the corset hurts, loosen the laces, because it is too tight." There is nothing else to it.

·       The Times of London wrote:   Our old friend, tight-lacing, has again made his appearance. …as medical practitioners, we see its effects every day in the train of nervous & dyspeptic symptoms and in the still more grave internal mischief of permanent character which is often caused by it. Until some little physiological knowledge is made a part of female education, and is considered an “accomplishment”, we suppose it is of little use to protest against the cruel injury to health which women thus inflict upon themselves.

·       The British medical journal, the Lancet felt compelled to write the following:   The practice is as injurious to the health as its effects are monstrous to the eye. … If a lady encases herself in a stiff pair of stays, and laces them tightly, the lungs would be quite unprovided with air, and she would speedily die but for the action of the diaphragm  We do not hesitate to say that the practice of tight lacing causes a very large number of distressing female ailments, over and beyond those derangements of digestion and circulation to which we have already referenced in a former article.

 ·       Valerie Steele, The Corset:  A Cultural History wrote:   What worried physicians most was tight lacing and the use of corsets.  Both led to miscarriages, displacement of the womb, local inflammation of the liver, gall-stones and biliary colic, wandering liver, lateral curvatures of the spine, chlorosis, diminished lung capacity, weak eyes and Bright’s disease.

·       From the Book When the Spine Curves: Treatments for Scoliosis:  The History of Scoliosis   

o   Dr. Robert Wallace Johnson found that tight-lacing impeded the normal growth of the spine. Many of his patients had disproportionate breasts, shoulder and hip unevenness, and legs that appeared to be of differing lengths.

o   Russell T. Trall, a hydropathist or water cure doctor, also thought that his female patients developed spinal curves from wearing corsets. He believed that "long draggling dresses, heavy skirts, and multitudinous flounces" caused scoliosis as well.

·      Found on a website, by alyssatomolonis    The most controversial element regarding tight lacing corsetry is the effect that the garment has on the female reproductive organs.  Even during pregnancy, most women clung to the notion that they had to maintain and embody the feminine ideal by wearing a tightly laced corset over the abdomen.  Not only did wearing a corset in this way inhibit uterine expansion to accommodate for the rapidly growing fetus, it also deteriorated fetal development, caused a multitude of fetal deformities, and in extreme cases, could cause miscarriage.

 ·        Modern day physician Dr. Richard Zinkan commented how "although there comes a limit as to how far a corset can ultimately be tightened, the inner organs are not adversely affected by it, and corsets have been part of various treatment plans for many years". It is now recognized that figure training with gradual long term tight lacing does not impact one's health. This leaves us the option open to accept corseting again as an effective and safe practice, provided the guidelines are being followed:   Go slow and relax the laces when it becomes painful, and watch your diet! No fatty or oily slow digesting foods .