Statement, showing the importance of this institution to the public, its objects, and manner of working.

  • British and Foreign Orthopoedic Institution (London, England)
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Statement, showing the importance of this institution to the public, its objects, and manner of working. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    from your treatment; and I should be wanting in gratitude were I not to express? f whenever ail opportunity offers, my sense of obligation and thankfulness for your] extreme kindness, skill, and attention to them. I must also add, that your plan succeeded when others had failed. Believe me, &c. To Joseph Amesburp, Esq. Thomas Workman {Surgeon). - . . 1 Many of the individuals state to the above Committee, in answer to printed] questions sent to them, that they had had many opportunities ot seeing • very | great benefit derived from Mr. Amesbury’s modes of treatment in cases of ; deformity of the spine, chest, and limbs, and many cures after the usual! means had been tried for years without success. J One witness states, u I have seen fifty-nine cases of lateral curvature of| the spine treated by Mr. Amesbury in one of the classes attending his Piivate : Orthopaedic Establishment; twenty-one of which were cured, and all the others were much benefited, and some nearly cured, but these were considered: by Mr. Amesbury too bad to admit of perfect restoration.” This witness, testifies to the beneficial influence of the treatment on the health and.. strength, as well as on the figure. t . :! Another witness says, “ I have known fifty cases of curvature of spine, treated by Mr. Amesbury, in his Private Orthopoedic Establishment (not in: the class alluded to by the last witness), besides deformities of the chest and limbs, with very great advantage to the patients. Twenty-seven of these caseSj; of lateral curvature of the spine were cured, and twenty-three much improved, but not quite restored. I have observed that the health and strength are much improved by the means employed for the correction of the figure. The following documents, Nos. 2 and 3, are the Reports of a Committee of three physicians practising in London; two of whom were formerly suigeons in the army. It is considered that the experience^ these gentlemen, in the departments of the profession to which they are known to have specially de¬ voted their attention, peculiarly adapts them for conducting the investiga¬ tion which led to their reports. No. 2. We, the undersigned, having been requested to investigate and report on the effects of Mr. Amesbury’s treatment on the health ynd figure, in cases of lateral curvature and other distortions of the spine, also distortions and contractions of the chest, deformities of the limbs, and muscular weaknesses, met together for these) purposes at his private Orthopoedic Establishment, where we saw and examined a variety of cases in persons of different ages, from two years old to about forty,^ suffering from these complaints. In some of the cases of deformity of the limbs| and lateral curvature of the spine, which were brought before us, the deformed parts' had been restored to their natural figure by Mr. Amesbury’s treatment; and in| other cases various degrees of improvement had been effected, according to the time;;: they had been under his care. The improvement which we saw in the spine, chesty and limbs, in all the cases, was most manifest; and in some bad cases of lateral; curvature of the spine, and distortion of the chest, the extent of improvement; effected by him was exceedingly striking. Jj The healthy appearance and development of the body in those under treatmen| was very satisfactory ; and where the health was delicate, or had been impaire yL the deformity, it was much benefited by the means employed by him for the cor-j rection of the distorted figure, and for strengthening the system. The patients are; allowed free exercise in the open air, and thus all injurious confinement is avoided. . We consider Mr. Amesbury’s treatment, in the above-stated cases, scientific, and perfectly safe, as well as very successful in its results; and we are of opinion that *