General Soothing Strokings

These are given over the whole body while the patient lies with the arms close to the sides and eyes shut. They begin at the crown of the head and are continued down the sides and front of the body to the feet, and are given slowly and with the very slightest pressure. The patient should be told to notice the direction of the stroking attentively.

It is used to calm nervous patients and in the treatment of sleeplessness. In the latter case it is best when the patient has gone to bed.

Summary of Movements specially used in the

Treatment of Spinal Curvatures.

Movements to Correct Kyphosis.

A. Exercises which Stretch the Ligaments and other Soft Parts in front of the Spinal Column and Thorax: -

1. Arch-hanging Position and all movements in this.

2. Stretch-grasp-standing Forward-drawing.

3. All Chest-expansions.

4. Hanging with a Cushion at the Back (Fig. 126). - The patient takes Hanging starting position at a peg-post or in the middle of the upright between two wall-bars, and a little hard cushion is pressed in between his back and the apparatus at the maximum point of the kyphosis. The effect can be increased by pushing the patient's pelvis back against the apparatus. It is taken continuously for five to ten minutes or more. The longer the patient can hang the better will be the effect.

13. Exercises which Cause Active Work (in shortening) for the Muscles at the Back of the Spine and Thorax.

1. Neck-firm or Neck-rest Position of arms, and all movements in this position. But it must be carefully noticed that the correct position of the head is not lost throughout the exercise.

2. Neck-raising in its various starting positions.

3. Stretch-stoop-grasp-standing Holding. - The patient places himself in front of a wall-bar or peg-post at one and a half steps distance from the apparatus. After taking up the position (Arm-stretching-upward Trunk-falling-forward in the hip-joint) and grasping the apparatus he tries to straighten out the back as much as possible by pressing the thorax down while the sacrum is pushed backward. The gymnast, standing at the side, watches and corrects the position, especially of the head.

4. Wing-Neck-rest-

Arch-leg-forward-lying Holding.

5. All Back-raisings.

6. All 2 Plane Arm-carryings. - These latter specially correct the position of the shoulders.

Exercises to Correct Lordosis.

A. Exercises which Stretch Ligaments and Soft Parts at the Back of the Lumbar Spine.

1. Wing- Neck-rest-Stretchstanding Trunk-bending-forward-down- Ward.

Knees should not be bent. "Last bit, the best bit."

Fig. 126.

2. Hewing. - Patient, in Stretch-stride-standing position with hands together or clasped, bends himself quickly forward and downward as if he were giving a vigorous hewing, and relaxes at the same time the back muscles, so that a strong stretching of the back is produced. Repeated six to twelve times.

Done at a peg-post or at the upright between two wall-bars. The patient sits on the ground with the back close to the apparatus and the knees drawn up to the trunk. Then the knees are pressed back by means of a strap going behind the apparatus, which is fastened in front of the legs, after which the arms are carried to Heave or Stretch position and grasp the apparatus. For this the gymnast usually must help.

If kyphosis and lordosis are both present a little cushion is pushed in between the maximum of the curve and the apparatus. The position should be maintained for some time - five to ten minutes or more.

B. Exercises with Active Work (best in Strong Contraction) for the Abdominal Muscles.

In general all exercises for flexors of the trunk (see p. 229), but especially: -

1. All 2 (double) Knee-updrawings and - downpressings.

2. All 2 Leg-liftings and - downpressings.

3. All 2 Leg-updrawings and - downpressings.

4. Climbing.

5. General Correcting Position = G. C. P. - The patient places himself in Stride-standing position with the back against a post or the corner of a door, or something similar, with the feet a little in front of the support. With the trunk bent slightly forward the sacrum is first pressed against the apparatus, then the spinous processes of the lower lumbar vertebrae, and so on, vertebra by vertebra, while the trunk is raised. The patient should try to keep the lumbar vertebrae closely applied to the apparatus while the upper vertebrae come in contact with it. It is controlled by the gymnast, or the patient himself, by putting the finger-tips along the lumbar spine between it and the support.

Fig. 127.

After some practice the feet are placed nearer to the apparatus and Stride position is diminished. Finally, 2 (double) Arm-heaving-forward and -upward is done with the whole spine pressed against the apparatus. This exercise is very effective.

Exercises to Correct Lateral Curvature of the Spine = Special Scoliosis Movements.

For giving special exercises in scoliosis treatment the following general rules apply : -

(a) The patient's back must be uncovered, so that both the performance of the movement and its effect can be directly controlled with the eyes.

(b) All "pressure" must be continuous and even, sometimes with small pressures at the maximum point, but never roughly or with the knuckles.

(c) Pressure on a dorsal curve is given at the angles of the ribs, not in the middle of the side. Pressure on a lumbar curve is given on the transverse processes (that is, quite close to the spinal column).