[In quest of objectivity - The concept of reflexology as an attempt towards a mechanistic doctrine of psychics]. / Auf der Suche nach Objektivität ­ das Reflexologie-Konzept als Versuch einer mechanistischen Seelenkunde.

The concept of reflexology had been mainly developed in Russia in the first three decades of the 20th century. It could be regarded as a distinct and universal concept which was to explain both psychic diseases, healthy conditions, and psychology of masses. Moreover, it had been influenced behaviourism and, likewise, was an answer for the search of an objective method for investigation of the psyche. Main protagonists were Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev and Naum Efimovich Ishlondsky (Ischlondsky) whose works underwent international dissemination.

Naum Efimovich Ischlondsky: a forgotten protagonist of the concept of reflexology.

The present article reports on the life and work of a protagonist of the concept of reflexology. While the concept itself has its roots in Russia, in Ivan Petrovich Pavlov's research on conditioned reflexes, and was then shaped to a large extent by Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev, the contributions of Naum Efimovich Ischlondsky (Ishlondsky) have been largely forgotten. Moreover, he developed this concept throughout his life up to the 1960s, by which time he was living in the USA. In contrast, in the Soviet Union, the concepts of reflexology based on the work of Bechterev and his followers had already been abandoned by the 1930s for largely political reasons.

A Time to Reflect on Motor Control in Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy.

Motor control is a popular concept within physical therapy practice and has received a significant amount of attention over the last 25 years. It has been implicitly conceived and understood by clinicians and researchers throughout this time, yet appears to differ considerably with respect to its definition and translation into clinical practice. The purpose of this Viewpoint is to outline the history of motor control and its use in musculoskeletal physical therapy practice and to highlight the consequences of its interpretation and variation in its use. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(11):833-836. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.0614.

The Rise of Massage and Medical Gymnastics in London and Paris before the First World War.

Massage and medical gymnastics experienced a rapid institutionalization across Europe and North America between 1850 and 1914. This article explores how this process took place in London and Paris. Physiotherapy developed many of the hallmarks of an independent discipline during this period, including an identified corpus of manipulations and exercises, some autonomous training courses and degrees for future practitioners, and even the creation of departments within several hospitals. The article analyzes all of the processes surrounding this rise, paying special attention to the influence of the ambassadors of Swedish gymnastics (which led to the re-invention of massage across Europe), to the installation of physiotherapy in hospitals in London and in Paris, and to the practical and institutional innovations driven by nurses in England and by doctors in France.

[History of conservative spinal therapy]. / Geschichte der konservativen Wirbelsäulentherapie.

Hippocrates was the first to intensively describe and document the principles for the treatment of injuries and diseases of the spine. His principles for abrupt treatment of the "hunchback" were followed by physicians even up to the end of the nineteenth century. The non-operative treatment of scoliosis was improved in the beginning of the sixteenth century by the introduction of mechanical devices that started the development of corsets which are still in use in modern scoliosis treatment. Stretching beds were only in temporary use. With the beginning of the nineteenth century gymnastics and physiotherapy became more and more important. Manual therapy was exercised by physicians until the late Middle Ages. After a long period of time in which bonesetters and other laymen performed manual therapy it was professionalized at the end of the nineteenth century again by the introduction of osteopathy and chiropractic. In Germany the development and introduction of manual treatment started relatively late in the twentieth century, predominantly as manual medicine.

[Therapy of scoliosis from a historical perspective]. / Therapie der Skoliose aus historischer Sicht.

Scoliosis can be considered as one of the classical orthopedic diseases of the spine. The history of orthopedics is closely connected to the development of the therapy of scoliosis. In the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries the therapy of scoliosis was mainly a conservative corrective orthopedic treatment with a variety of corset forms and extension bed treatment. In the middle of the nineteenth century physiotherapy (movement therapy) became established as an supplementary active treatment. The first operations for treatment of scoliosis were carried out in 1839. The real success with surgical procedures for improvement in corrective options was connected to the introduction of metal spinal implants in the early 1960s.

Reduction of temporomandibular joint dislocation: an ancient technique that has stood the test of time.

The first known recorded evidence for the reduction of a mandibular joint dislocation is documented in a papyrus dated to c. 1500 BC that originated from ancient Egypt. This same technique was later discussed by Hippocrates in Greece and the Hippocratic corpus is referred to in early Islamic writings. It is detailed in medieval European texts and eventually was incorporated into modern dental and medical practice. Today, mandibular joint dislocation is probably not that common but to be included in an important ancient Egyptian treatise, predominately concerned with trauma to the head and neck, could suggest it was a more frequent occurrence in antiquity. This could relate to the heavy tooth wear, frequent antemortem tooth loss and the related sequelae of severe malocclusion and overclosure evident in many surviving ancient Egyptian skulls.

[The achievements of Therapeutic Institute of Eugenia Lewicka in Druskininkai]. / Osiagniecia Zakladu Leczniczego Eugenii Lewickiej w Druskiennikach.

The professional activity of Eugenia Lewicka (1896-1931), a Varsovian doctor, his thorough medical education in various European countries are presented first of all. Her significance for development of Main Institute of Physical Education in Warsaw is mentioned. She was a head of "Helio-, aero-, and kinesiotherapeutical infirmary" in Druskininkai. The achievements this well-known infirmary for development of Polish health resorts are recounted.

[Clubfoot treatment through the ages: the Ponseti method in comparison to other conservative approaches and operative procedures]. / Klumpfußbehandlung im Wandel der Zeit: Die Ponseti-Methode im Vergleich zu anderen konservativen Therapieansätzen sowie operativen Verfahren.

Clubfoot is one of the most common congenital deformities of the musculoskeletal system with incidence rates ranging from 0.6 to 6.8 per 1,000 live births. The treatment of clubfoot historically belongs to one of the oldest orthopedic therapies. By the end of the nineteenth century redressement with various tools, such as clamps, braces and casts was the standard treatment of clubfoot. Through further development of operational capabilities and the fact that soft tissue structures show amore resistant reaction to pressure and strain than the surrounding cartilage and bone, operative therapy was favored in the late twentieth century. Surgical correction involves the release of contracted capsular and ligamentous structures to varying degrees and the lengthening of tendons.In 1963 Ponseti published his method. He recognized that the internal rotation and plantar flexion of the calcaneus is the key deformity. However, his method first became known worldwide at the turn of the millennium as long-term results of release operations showed stiff scar healing and the risk of over-correction as problems in these operations.Many comparative studies have shown the superiority of the Ponseti method regarding invasiveness, primary correction rate, functional outcome and recurrence rate in both idiopathic and non-idiopathic clubfoot. In this article the current literature regarding this will be presented as well as prominent landmarks in the development of clubfoot treatment.

So many years ago.

A case of flail chest treated before availability of electrically driven respirators.

[Vojta's method as the early neurodevelopmental diagnosis and therapy concept]. / Metoda Vojty jako wczesna diagnostyka neurorozwojowa i koncepcja terapeutyczna.

Vaclav Vojta (1917-2000) developed an early diagnostic method of the neurodevelopmental disorder of infants and came up with therapeutic concept consisting in releasing of global motor complexes by means of the stimulation of proper areas on patients body. In the diagnostics apart from very careful observation of the spontaneous movement of the infant and examination of the reflexes that are characteristic for the first weeks of human's life, Vojta applied the examination of the 7 postural reactions. Presence of the trouble in patterns and dynamics of the postural reactions Vojta called Central Nervous Coordination Disorder--CNCD and regarded as work diagnosis or alarm signal indicating necessity of application of the therapy, especially when asymmetry of the muscle tone and primitive reflexes beyond their physiological appearance period are observed or the number of the abnormal reactions exceeds 5. Global motor complexes as reflex locomotion--crawling and rotation--consist of all the partial motion patterns, which are gradually used by healthy infant in the process of postural and motor ontogenesis. Providing the central nervous system with proper external stimulation allows to, using neuronal plasticity, recreate an access to the human's postural development program and gradually replace pathological motor patterns by those more regular. Exercises repeated several times a day rebuilt support, erectile and vertical mechanisms, improve automatic postural control and phase lower limb movement. Affecting especially on autochtonic muscles of the spine exercises balance synergic cooperation of muscle groups in the trunk and those surrounding key body joints. This way they correct body's posture and peripheral motion and pathology of the outlasted primitive reflexes gradually withdraws.

Clubfoot: etiology and treatment Ignacio V. Ponseti, MD, 1914-.

This biographical sketch of Ignacio V. Ponseti, MD, corresponds to the historic text, The Classic: Congenital Club Foot: The Results of Treatment, available at DOI 10.1007/s11999-009-0720-2 and The Classic: Observations on Pathogenesis and Treatment of Congenital Clubfoot, available at DOI 10.1007/s11999-009-0721-1.