Injuries and diseases of the knee-joint : considered from the clinical aspect / by William Bennett.

  • Bennett, William H. (William Henry), Sir, 1852-1931.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Injuries and diseases of the knee-joint : considered from the clinical aspect / by William Bennett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    which excludes any form of splint which makes the patella inaccessible. The necessity for securing free mobility of the patella is not confined to cases of fracture, but if a rapid and perfect result is to be obtained it should be used in all cases of inflamma¬ tion of the knee-joint, traumatic or otherwise, liable to be followed by stiffness. This method of treatment makes the use of fixed immovable apparatus impracticable, such, for ex¬ ample, as plaster-of-Paris, silicate of potash, and the like. The stiffness and pain which so often followed in fracture of the patella when treated upon the old lines were much more frequently due to the immobili¬ sation treatment than to the injury. The best results which follow in cases not subjected to operative treatment will be obtained by immediate smooth massage and patellar manipulation, followed in a week or earlier by voluntary and gentle passive movement of the knee, during which the upper fragment should be firmly fixed by the hand of the manipulator in order to prevent its being drawn up towards the thigh. By this means, if effectually managed, flexion to a right angle can generally be accomplished without increasing the separation, and, in the majority of instances, a useful limb may be expected in from three to six months, all splints having been discarded at the end of the first month. It is remarkable how little stretching of the union