Observations on forty-five cases of flat-foot : with particular reference to etiology and treatment / by Royal Whitman.

  • Whitman, Royal, 1857-1946.
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on forty-five cases of flat-foot : with particular reference to etiology and treatment / by Royal Whitman. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    BY ROYAL WHITMAN, M.B., Surgeon to the Orthopedic Department of the Boston Dispensary. OBSERVATIO FLAT-FOO' ENCE TO ET CASES OF ULAR REFER- TREATMENT.i I AM inclined to think that the frequency of troubles caused by overstraining the arch of the foot is not ap- preciated, and that the condition is not generally recognized, because nearly every patient whom I have treated for this affection, many of whom pre- sented the typical appearances of flat-foot, sometimes to an extreme degree, were taking, or had taken for long periods, internal remedies on the supposition that the symptoms were caused by rheumatism. Some observations on the etiology of the ajBfection, with a more detailed account of its treatment than can be found in surgical or orthopedic works, may prove of interest to those who may be called upon to treat it. The gross appearances and symptoms in'acquired flat-foot have been sufficiently well described by vari- ous writers. In a typical case they are as follows: The arch of the foot is lowered ; or completely broken down, so that the entire sole rests upon the floor; on the inside of the foot che slight normal outward curve from the heel to the head of the first metatarsal is re- placed by a bulging inwards, most prominent below and in front of the internal malleolus. The foot seems broader than usual, and the internal malleolus is abnormally prominent; when the patient stands the entire foot seems displaced outwards on the leg, this being especially marked when looking at it from be- hind ; the tissues on the inside of the arch and ankle 1 Read at the meeting of the Surgical Section of the Suffolk District Medical Society, April 4, 1888.