The art of massage / by A. Creighton Hale.

  • Hale, A. Creighton.
Date:
[1893]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The art of massage / by A. Creighton Hale. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    HOUSEMAID'S KNEE (SYNOVITIS), SPRAINS. Housemaid's knee.—TMx'A is an accumulation of serous fluid between the integument and front of the patella. It causes much swelhng, pain, and tenderness. I find it very prevalent among nurses through con- stantly pressing the knee against bedsteads when on duty. Housemaids are also sufferers through con- stantly kneeling on stone floors, etc., when scrubbing, and also from thoughtlessly shutting drawers with the knee. Cooks also suffer through being constantly subject to abnormal heat, which causes inflammation of the tissues and transudation of serous fluid. Oil the palm of the right hand and make it concave to accommodate the roundness of the patella. Friction for ten minutes (centrifugal movement) with each hand alternately. Then place the left hand so as to support the thigh, and with the right hand clenched and the wrist kept low make a circle of careful punctations with the ball of the thumb (not the tip) round the outer edge of the patella. Then raise the calf slightly with the right hand and with the left efdeurage gently and thoroughly under the knee joint. I quite restored an exceptionally bad knee in a fort- night by this simple treatment, the patient resting during that time.
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