Further studies upon the arch of the foot in infancy and childhood / by John Dane.

  • Dane, John.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Further studies upon the arch of the foot in infancy and childhood / by John Dane. 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.

    3/18
    [Reprint from “ Transactions of the American Orthopedic Associaton, vol. xi., 1S98.] A NEWLY MODIFIED SPLINT FOR KNOCK-KNEE AND BOW-LEG, BY JOHN DANE, M.D., BOSTON. The number of forms of apparatus for the correction of bow-legs and knock-knees is already so large that in presenting a new one it is necessary to state, as quickly and as plainly as possible, what advantages can be claimed for it. This can possibly best be done by considering for a moment some of the difficulties found in applying the splints now in common use. Such splints consist essen- tially of a single rigid upright running from the sole of the foot to the upper part of the thigh. To this the leg is drawn inward or outward, as the case requires, by a series of straps and buckles. This description applies equally well to the braces made by the instrument makers; for though they are provided with two uprights, one on each side of the leg, but one can be used against which to pull. The disadvantages of such braces are of three kinds : (1) The points of counter-pressure above are often so small that they cut into the soft parts, which renders them both insecure and uncomfortable. (2) The straps and leathers which necessarily encircle almost the entire leg must cause a series of band-like con- strictions. (3) It is very difficult with them to prevent a slight flexion of the knee. Such a bending having taken place, the limb can at once be made to lie parallel with the splint without the least pressure from the straps, thus doing away with all the correction forces that should be directed against the deformity.