Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1885-02-11

peculiarities alone. Ifhe has had an illness
do your best to bring about his complete re-
storation. Observe closely whether he uses
his lower limbs freely and strongly when
sitting and lying and whether he uses the
two with equal freedom and force. If he
does SO the limbs are probably sound. If
the examination leaves any doubt in your
mind ask your family physician to decide
the point for you.
Again, the question is asked: ''Will it
hurt the baby to walk SO early?" Injuries
usually attributed to early walking are bow
legs, knock-knee, and weak ankles. The
phrase "weak ankles" generally means an
ankle that is not firm in its support of the
body by reason of relaxations of the liga-
ments, particularly those on the sides of the
joint. Occasionally we see "weak ankle,
which is such by reason of a general fiabbi-
ness of tissues, the muscles of the leg which
move the foot sharing in this weakness
| There is kind Of knock knee also due to
relaxed ligamsnts, but it is not very COM
mon in children, being usually acquired
later, as result Of injury, or of some Pc
culiar occupation. A form of bow-legs, too,
is very similar in its origin, but this is not
the form most common in children. Still,
if child were urged to walk before his
joint tissues were strong enough, deformities
of this sort might ensue.
The commoner forms, however, of both
knock knee and bow-legs arise in another
way. They depend upon peculiar consti-
tutional condition sometimes seen in child
hood, which is called ricketts,. This mani
tests itself in various ways, but most strik-
ingly in change in tho proportions of the
earthly and organic constituents Of the bones,
by which the latter lose their natural stiff
ness to greater or less degree. Now, this
condition is most commonly developed be-
tween the ages of five OF six months and two
years, the period within which the learning
to stand and to walk usually falls. If the
bones be sofened from ricketts,, it follows that
they will be very likely to bend more or less
under the weight of the body, and, if moth
ing be done to prevent it, the bending will
gradually increase until striking deformity
results, to be made permanent by the hard
ening Of the bone which ultimately takes
place. The place in which these curves oe-
cur, and the directions they will take, de-
pend upon various circumstances, such an
unequal degrees of softening, and the way
in which weight and muscular force are
brought to bear upon the bones. In knock
knee the bending is such that when the
knees are placed together the ankles remain
apart; in bow-legs the reverse takes place
the feet can be brought together while the
knees are separated. Of course every de-
gree of these deformities may be found, and,
further, the curves often take place in more
than one direction, giving to the limbs
peculiar twisted appearance. This is par
ticularly true of the lower part of the shin
bone, which often bows outward and for
ward at the same time.
The accompanying figures represent
case of bow-legs of considerable, but not of
the greatest, severity and very bad case of
knock-knee, in which is seen the peculiar
twisting referred to.