The causes and treatment of chronic backache : with a consideration of the diagnosis of sacro-iliac 'relaxation' / by Robert W. Lovett.

  • Lovett, Robert W. (Robert Williamson), 1859-1924.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The causes and treatment of chronic backache : with a consideration of the diagnosis of sacro-iliac 'relaxation' / by Robert W. Lovett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    many instances be adapted to the proper requirements. For men, a heavier canvas corset, reinforced as may be neede'd by light steels, is preferable to the lighter woman’s corset. The heels of the shoes should in most instances be raised an eighth or a quarter of an inch. As the back Cjuiets down, gymnastic exercises and massage of the back are desirable, and such exercises should be aimed at teaching the patient to learn to assume and to hold a more normal standing position. The electric light is often of value. CONCLUSIONS This paper is a plea for a careful etiologic study of each case of chronic backache or lameness of the back, and an attempt to present a classification which is very crude, but which has worked out satisfactorily in practice. Cases have been cited to show the variety of symptoms and the way in which treatment has or has not been successful. The popular diagnosis of “sacro-iliac relaxation” has been commented on, and attention has been called to the fact that adhesive- plaster straps on the skin cannot possibly “immobilize” relaxed sacro-iliac joints which at every step must bear the weight of the trunk as a downward thrust, and that the fact that treatment of this sort often relieves symptoms is fair evidence that the diagnosis in such cases in incorrect. 234 Marlborough Street.