On the use of massage and early passive movements in recent fractures and other common surgical injuries, and the treatment of internal derangements of the knee-joint : three clinical lectures delivered at St. George's Hospital / by William H. Bennett.

  • Bennett, William H. (William Henry), Sir, 1852-1931.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the use of massage and early passive movements in recent fractures and other common surgical injuries, and the treatment of internal derangements of the knee-joint : three clinical lectures delivered at St. George's Hospital / by William H. Bennett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    condition of a true hinge. In the manufacture of these instruments this salient point is the principal factor to be kept in view. It is too often thought that a truss or pad may be made by the pressure of which a semilunar cartilage can be kept in its proper site. A moment’s consideration will show that this is impracticable, especially in the face of the fact that in these cases of loosened semilunar cartilage the displacement is generally inwards towards the articulation—a direction in which an external pad could by no amount of ingenuity be made to bear. All that can be accomplished by properly devised instruments is the gripping of the head of the tibia with a view to the prevention of rotation; and I am acquainted only with two appliances which reason¬ ably effect this purpose, one being complicated and expensive, whilst the other is comparatively simple and inexpensive.1 So far as the effect is concerned I do not know that the one is better than the other. The small spring ‘ trusses ’ sometimes supplied are entirely useless. Tiie Operative Treatment. With regard to the propriety of the removal of displaced or loosened semilunar cartilages there 1 These instruments, which are made by Ernst and Spratt respec¬ tively, are both excellent; that which I have found most generally useful is shown in fig. 10.