The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-04-14
A CRICK IN THE BACK

A man aged ~ years leaned over
to pick his baby up from the floor.
He says he did this suddenly. The
instant he raised himself up with
the baby he felt terrific pain back
Of the hip toward the spine. He
could neither straighten up fully, sit
nor lie down. He was afraid to try
to move. This pain and Rightly
lasted q whole day. For two weeks
thereafter he was compelled to squat
sidewise II he had to reach down for
anything, owing to the rightly ana
pain in the lower part Of the back
and behind the hip. For q year there
after he had much pain and disable
ity. and was never able to lit any
thing or to bend down without pay
ing dearly for the attempt In renewed
pain and lameness. It Is now eight
wears since the crick developed, and
he Is almost disabled for two or three
DAYS whenever he makes an attempt
to lift anything.
Oh. yes, he adds that he has con-
suited half dozen doctors we
must remember that all sorts Of heal
ers are called doctors" these days,
SO one never knows what brand OF
charlatan the term may signify ;.
and some Of them told him 1.-The lin
ing covering my spine" IS what breaks
whatever that may be. The man says
that when this crick in the back
came he was physically normal, but
now he feels eighty years old. He
wonders If he can possibly be his age
again.
II the man were woman I'd say
YES. indeed. But I don't know about
the chances Of regeneration for 9
man. mean that the occurrence
this man describes suggests sacro-
lilac strain, sprain or, as our osteo-
pathic colleagues call 1t, slipped m
nominate or subluxation Of the sacro-
lilac synchondrosis, which Is ten
dollar word, but we can go higher Y
you wish.
The sacro-iliac junction is not q
true Joint, but Just the place where
the wing Of the hip bone dnnominate
bone) joins the base Of the spine
(sacrum) on either side. to form the
bony pelvis. I have no use for any
physician who acknowledges himself
bound by the tenets Of any school, but
aside from that I think We are In
debted to the osteopaths for teaching
us to recognize strain or sprain o.
this sacro-iliac junction. Certainl!
our medical teachers and the medica
literature ignored this common dis
ability until the osteopathic brethren
convinced us that it does happen.
This particular strain or sprain i
more likely to occur In women. TO
the reason that at times the pelvi'
structures in women become, well. les
rigid and more easily strained O
sprained, especially about the time 0
child-bearing. Women, too, at leas
in the recent past. have generally re
lied too much on splints, corsets ant
the like to support them and henc
they have more readily neglecte'
physical training and thus their mus
cles, ligaments and other skeletal tis
sues have become weaker, flabbiel
less capable Of meeting strains.
In many cases Of sacro-iliac strai,
or sprain immediate manipulation b
the physician will reduce the sligh
dislocstion or slipping. and then tn
application Of Z strong girdle Of I'd
hestve plaster around the pelvis belov
the creets Of the hip bones, o. q
some cases . plaster Of Paris girdl(
will give tremendous relief ct ono
and enable the patient to move Wit
comparatively little pain. Later
special wide belt may Be used 70 sup
port the injured junction for seveys
months.