Spinal curvature and awkward deportment : their causes and prevention in children / by George Müller ; English edition edited and adapted by Richard Greene.

  • Müller, Georg, 1861-
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Spinal curvature and awkward deportment : their causes and prevention in children / by George Müller ; English edition edited and adapted by Richard Greene. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    thus induces a side bend of the spinal colunin, and of necessity a compensatory bend to the opposite side. This is clearly shown in (Fig. 2). The same effect is produced by standing with one leg in front of the other, by which the stretch of the pelvis of the for- ward foot is greater than the stretch of the backward foot, and the leg is shortened by the unconscious bend of the knee, thus causing the pelvis to sink to the side of the forward foot. This position is met with in girls much more often than in boys, because the pelvis of the female is broader than that of the male; it begins to increase about the tenth year, thereby pressing the hip joints further apart. If the child were to stand with its feet to- gether, the upper part of the thigh would have to converge to the knees, in order to make it possible for the under part to meet, the legs forming more or less of an X ; and it is to improve upon this uncom- fortable position that the child puts one foot in front of the other. Therefore it is always best to accustom her to stand with her feet a little apart; two or three centimetres are quite enough to ensure the proper balance, and not enough to appear ungraceful. It is also a bad habit to sit with one leg crossed over the other, as this causes the pelvis to assume an oblique position, and the spine to be curved to one side. The skoliose curve is very frequently caused by the
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