Lectures of Dr. J.M. Littlejohn Volume I

Lectures of Dr. J.M. Littlejohn Volume I

by | Dec 22, 2017 | Bookshop

The Littlejohn Lectures Volume 1

The Littlejohn Lectures Volume I

The Littlejohn Lectures Volume I

John Wernham wrote in his introduction to The Littlejohn Lectures Volume I “The transcription from the lecture room to the printed page is difficult.  Any attempt to reproduce the intimacy of the spoken word to the reader from the silent book can only result in a conglomerate of repetition and the most unfortunate juxtaposition of uncontrolled sentences and ‘asides’ that, to say the least, make for difficult reading.  The only solution to this dilemma is one of compromise between a mere verbatim record and a total reconstruction with some omissions and with some alteration in presentation where the meaning is obscure.  However, in spite of this daunting prospect every effort has been made to preserve the great truths that are enshrined in the old manuscripts and to restore, to some extent at least, the atmosphere of the earlier years of academic osteopathy, without creating an excess of fatigue for the modern student.

The Littlejohn Lectures Volume I edited by John Wernham, begins with the subject Osteopathy in General.   John Wernham writes “The first question is “What is Osteopathy?  Osteopathy is a system of therapeutics based on the theory that many diseases are due to pressure on the vessels, or nerves, by some displaced vertebrae, or some other part of the skeleton, or to a condition of imbalance in the muscles moving around the joint.  The treatment is directed to the mechanical correction, by means of manipulation of the osseous displacement, or muscular imbalance, with a consequent repression of abnormal reflexes, and a restoration to normal of the circulation and the nerve impulses.”

John Wernham further writes “The method of treatment is based on the principle of adjustment.  This is the key to our theory because all adjusted structures contribute their quota to general vital force underlying the correlated activities of the body, the constitutional vitality being the sum total of these correlated activities, and it is when this power fails that we are called in to help restore the vital force to its normal position.  That is to say, the tendency to the normal is the underlying physiological force of the body.  If, and when, lack of adjustment exists within the organism, or its environment, it is our place to recover the lost vital control and assist nature in the return to the normal.”

This publication is available to order from our Online Bookshop:

http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/product/the-littlejohn-lectures-volume-1/

To read more of “The Littlejohn Lectures Volume I” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £30 here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/product/the-littlejohn-lectures-volume-1/

Classical Osteopathy

Classical Osteopathy

by | Sep 15, 2017 | Bookshop

Classical Osteopathy

The Knee Joint – T.E. Hall

John Wernham’s Classical Osteopathy is a collection of lectures given by eminent osteopaths one of whom is T. Edward Hall.

In a lecture to Osteopaths T. E. Hall states: “We, you and I, know that while we are called upon to deal with many hundreds of cases of knee disablement, discomfort and pain, only a very small percentage of them can be classified as a definite displaced meniscus. Except where certain occupational hazards exist, i.e., footballers, ballet dancers, miners, etc., if all present here averaged one true cartilage a year for each year in practice, it would be something extraordinary. When we do come upon this condition, especially on the first occasion, we can and should be able to specifically correct it and then follow up by adjustment of the lesser mechanics of movement to the greater. If this is accomplished correctly, all things being equal, the knee should be able to function normally in every way. It is the neglect to normalize the lesser movements of sidebending and rotation, and neglect in the insistence on the carrying out of the appropriate exercises which leaves the knee open to permanent injury.”

T.E. Hall further writes: “We should remind ourselves also that children under 12 years of age complaining of pain in the knee, especially if apparently disabled by the condition, we should of course, rule out any possibility among hosts of other already mentioned, conditions such as Osgood Schlatter’s disease, Pelligrini fractures and congenital discoid meniscus, etc.”

To read more of “Classical Osteopathy” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £40.00 here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/classical-osteopathy/

The Body Adjustment

The Body Adjustment

by | Nov 18, 2016 | Bookshop

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The Body Adjustment

As an Introduction to our Body Adjustment Course commencing in January 2017, we draw your attention to the article written by
John Wernham in his Lectures on Osteopathy (Volume I) on the importance of The Body Adjustment……..

“With the exception of treatment given in the case of acute disease and other certain conditions, osteopathic techniques were always applied under the aegis of the General Treatment.  There has been a total rebuttal of this first great principle in osteopathy and operators are content to give only local treatment directed to the painful area indicated by the patient.  Such a limited viewpoint represents the absolute negation of the second great principle, namely, the integration of all parts of the body, anatomically, mechanically and physiologically.  This is a broad canvas, and if there is detail it must be made to bear a right relationship with the unit body if the condition is to be resolved and the patient stabilized.

The term ‘general treatment’ fell into disrepute and soon became a background for the so-called ‘specific’, or ‘replacement’, techniques, which are entirely anatomical in concept and have no concern with the body mechanics, or function.  To give a treatment called ‘general’ gave rise to boredom and led to scant attention to the finer point of our manipulative procedures.  It was for these reasons that the old title was abandoned and the new term ‘Body Adjustment’ substituted.

The truth is that the general treatment, body adjustment, full treatment; or whatever name is chosen is the very fabric of our manipulation and demands our closest attention every step of the way.  The technique employs the long lever and deals with ALL tissues conjointly with only special emphasis where it is necessary. The method is deliberately routine in order to ensure that nothing is missed in diagnosis and, further, to establish the lost rhythm so often lacking in the patient. The limb leverage is powerful and brings into play every muscular insertion into the spine and into the pelvis, yet the effect is gentle, smooth and relaxing.  The objective is the restoration of the internal environment and thus provides those conditions essential for the recovery of the lesion state.  Without such preparation the good effect of spinal correction is limited and short-lived; in fact in a great many cases the general body adjustment will be enough for nature to make the recovery without any local, or specific, work whatsoever.  But, perhaps the most important aspect, and the most important argument in support of this traditional technique is to be found in the long-term effects which are stable and stress resistant.  Finally, it must be said that although the technique is loosely and freely given, it must be precise and accurate in execution.”
JOHN WERNHAM

To read more about “Attending our Body Adjustment Course in January 2017” you can reserve your place and find further information here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/postgraduate-studies-on-classical-osteopathy/

 

Andrew Taylor Still 1828-1917

Andrew Taylor Still 1828-1917

by | Aug 26, 2016 | Bookshop

Andrew Taylor Still 1828 – 1917

In her biography of Andrew Taylor Still 1828 – 1917 Carol Trowbridge writes “Andrew Taylor Still had lost confidence and hope in the medical therapies of his day after three of his children died of meningitis in 1864.  He became obsessed with finding the cause and the cure for disease.  Still developed a philosophy of osteopathy that was holistic, naturalistic, and emphasized health rather than disease.  He shunned drugs, and used a manipulative therapy designed to release the healing powers of nature.  After years of thought, study, and experimentation, Still opened the American School of Osteopathy in 1892 in Kirksville, Missouri, far removed from the medical centers of traditional medicine.  Author Carol Trowbridge tells us about Still’s family, the communities he lived in, and the events that shaped him.  She helps us understand this eccentric medical pioneer who was never fully accepted by his peers, but whose holistic methods are now considered the cutting edge of medicine today.  He leaves a legacy of patient-centered care that impacts providers and patients around the world”.

“Andrew Taylor Still perdió la confianza y esperanza en las terapia médicas de su época después de que, en 1864, tres de sus hijos fallecieran victimas de la meningitis.  Se obsesionó con entontrar la causa y la cura de la enfermedad.  Still desarrolló una filosofia holistica y naturalista de la osteopatía, hacienda hincapié en la salud antes que en la enfermedad.  Rechazó los farmacos y utilizó una terapia maniuplativa diseñada para liberar los poderes curativos de la naturalza.  Tras años de reflexion, estudio y experimenación.   En 1882, Still abrió en Kirksville la Escuela Americana de Osteopatía en Kirksville, lejos de los centros medicos de medicina tradicional”.  La autora Carol Trowbridge nos habla sobre la familia de Still, las comunidades en las que vivió y los acontecimientos que le dieron forma.  Nos ayuda a comprender a este excéntrico pionero, nunca totalmente aceptado por sus contemporáneos, pero cuyos métodos holisticos se consideran hoy como la vanguardia de la medicina de la actualidad.  Nos deja un legado de cuidados centrados en el paciente que impacta sobre los suministradores y pacientes de todo el mumdo.

Andrew Taylor Still 1828–1917 Written by Carol Trowbridge

Contents include:
Chapter 1  Sons of Thunder  (Hijos del Trueno)
Chapter 2  A Howling Wilderness  (Una Selva Huracanada)
Chapter 3  Kansas
Chapter 4  A New Beginning  (Un Nuevo Principio)
Chapter 5  A New Science  (Une Nueva Ciencia)
Chapter 6  The Old Doctor  (El Viejo Doctor)

To read more of “Andrew Taylor Still 1828-1917” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £35 here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/andrew-taylor-still-1828-1917/

 

Mechanics of the Spine and Pelvis

Mechanics of the Spine and Pelvis

by | Aug 15, 2016 | Bookshop

Mechanics of the Spine and Pelvis

Mechanics of the Spine and Pelvis

In the Preface of the Mechanics of the Spine and Pelvis, John Wernham writes: “The present study in the Mechanics of the Spine and Pelvis is based on some original research carried out by Dr. J.M. Littlejohn about the year 1900.  The text has been prepared form lecture notes delivered at the British School of Osteopathy in 1934.  (Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Lecture Notes are held in the John Wernham College of Classical Osteopathy Library and Archive.)  The diagrams illustrating the text were produced by John Wernham and T.E. Hall in 1955.

The human body is not a machine; it is a living, and highly sensitive organism.  None-the-less, it is subject to the laws of gravity and if the mechanical aspect of our physiological life does not receive its proper and due acknowledgement, and if adequate clinical procedures are not adopted, then the ultimate breakdown in the body unity will become inevitable”.

In the Mechanics of the Spine and Pelvis the second chapter refers to Applied Mechanics of the Spine and Pelvis.  “If a solid body is suspended, its balance is maintained at a definite point and the line of action of supporting power passes through the centre of gravity, if the body is at rest.  In the human body this point is to be found in the 3rd lumbar vertebra.  If the movement of the body is properly balanced its equilibrium is maintained in standing or walking around this point and is under the control of muscles and soft tissues in the dorsal, lumbar and sacral areas.  In the erect posture, the pelvis represents suspension through the legs which operate as the support in relation to standing or walking.  This is why the legs become tired in abnormal postural conditions of the body, and why, in its true gravital position the body is suspended from the pelvis, and supported upward from the pelvis”.

Also in this chapter, John Wernham writes about The Anterior Body Line; The Non-Parallel Lines; The Curved Lines; The Dorso-Lumbar Arch; The First Examination of a Patient; The Posterior and Anterior Curvatures.

To read more of “Mechanics of the Spine and Pelvis” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £15 here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/mechanics-of-the-spine-and-pelvis/

Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Lectures on the Pathology of the Osteopathic Lesion

Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Lectures on the Pathology of the Osteopathic Lesion

by | Jul 7, 2016 | Bookshop

Dr Littlejohn’s Lectures on the Pathology of the Osteopathic Lesion

Dr. Littlejohn’s Lectures on the Pathology of the Osteopathic Lesion

The publication of Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Lectures on the Pathology of the Osteopathic Lesion commences with The Pathology of the Osteopathic Lesion “The foundation of all disease is some deficiency in the immunising power of the body, and the principles underlying disease therefore are variations from normal in structure and/or function.

Susceptibility to disease depends on the degree of variation from normal in body integrity; the normal resisting capacity of the parts of the body; and capacity of toxins and/or micro-organisms to invade and produce resultant changes in the body, which lay the foundation for degenerative processes.”

In the second section of Lectures on the Pathology of the Osteopathic Lesion, Dr. J.M. Littlejohn writes on the subject of Osteopathic Pathology: “Pathology is obstructive or irritative conditions, resulting in disturbed structure or function. This result secondarily establishes:

1. Abnormal blood, i.e. malnutrition; or
2. Neurosis, i.e. weakening of the functions of the nervous system or a part of it.”

Dr. J.M. Littlejohn further writes in this section: “The fundamental characteristic of the body is harmony and equilibrium in the organism. If the latter is normal there is no struggle for life among the different parts of the body, each being a unity in itself which consists of co-operation among fibres, cells, tissues and fluids, each of which derives its value from the place it occupies and the work it does in the organism. Hence, the body is not a colony of cells but an organism in which all cellular elements are united together each cooperating with the other to form the unity of the body. Hence if one part of the body is in revolt (disease) then all other body forces must be used to end the revolt”.

To read more of “Dr J.M Littlejohn Lecture’s on the Pathology of the Osteopathic Lesion” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £15 here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/dr-j-m-littlejohns-lectures-on-the-pathology-of-the-osteopathic-lesion/

Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Orthopaedics

Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Orthopaedics

by | May 10, 2016 | Bookshop

Orthopedics

Orthopaedics

Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Lectures on Orthopaedics commences “Properly speaking, orthopaedics deals with deformities of the child but in practice it covers all forms of deformity in the spine and extremities.  The foundation is in the inherent weakness of the spine which results from some abnormal development.  At birth, the musculo‑vertebtral column is free from architectural defect, the spinal reflexes are absent, the activity of the voluntary nervous system is at a minimum, so that voluntary muscular control is impossible.  It is only when this control begins to show in the spine that the typical curves begin to form.  Hence we can lay down two propositions: (1) If the brain development with the spine accessorily is normal in the child, the normal curves are established early but, (2) As deficiency develops in the cerebro spinal nervous system the curves become more atypical, indicating that outside trauma all treatment should be directed to the C.S.N.S.

It must be emphasized that the motor nerve supply to the vertebral tissues is of supreme importance and if we are to obtain the correct foundation on which to build the normal spine we must look to this mechanism after the appearance of the physiological curves.  In a high proportion of cases the muscular vertebral column is weak at puberty and is to be localized in the intrinsic nervous mechanism.  That is to say, the central nervous system is equal to the task of making the spine normal, but the spinal and accessory nervous mechanism is too weak to make this possible.  Therefore, it can be said that the vertebral column as a whole is structurally and functionally normal in development, but that functionally it is inadequate to maintain the integrity of the muscular system in and around the spine, so that, functionally, it is unable to bear the weight of the body as and when it assumes the postural erect position.”

Orthopaedics edited by John Wernham from Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s lectures covers the subjects Sprains; Dislocations; Shoulder; Lower Extremities; Ankle; Knee; Hip; The Sacral Plexus; The Locked Lesion; Postural Integrity; The Development of Posture; The Lumbo-Sacral Area; and Relation of Accommodation and Compensation to Deformity.

To read more of “Dr J.M Littlejohn Lecture’s on Orthopaedics” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £15 here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/dr-j-m-littlejohn-lectures-on-orthopaedics/

Notes on Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Principles of Osteopathy

Notes on Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Principles of Osteopathy

by | Apr 21, 2016 | Bookshop

Notes on the Principles of Osteopathy Front

Notes on Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Principles of Osteopathy

JWCCO is pleased to announce the launch of its new website www.jwccolearning.org.uk
By registering on this website you will be able to read this publication (Notes on the Principles of Osteopathy) and other publications free of charge.

Notes on Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Principles of Osteopathy, John Martin Littlejohn writes: “In discussing the theory of the treatment of disease we must differentiate between the condition of disease and the state of disease.  If treatment is to be successful it must be based on the relation of cause and effect and the diagnosis must cover every aspect and sequence of that relationship.  We deal with vitality as the sum total of all the activities of the body, and we distinguish between health that is vital and that which is merely nutritive.  Here are included:  (1) The supply of materials on a nutritive basis; (2) the power of reception and rejection of the proximate principles so provided, and (3) the power of assimilation to its own substance after the body has received, digested and absorbed the food materials.  In vital health, however, we have to consider: (4) the adjustment of all the different parts of the body on a structural basis, and (5) the adjustment of all the functional activities of the body on the basis of vitality.

“Vital unhealth as distinguished from vital health means that some impairment or deficiency is present in any one or more of these five points.  This disturbing element is expressed in the term ‘Osteopathic Lesion’ which, in its widest sense, may have its origin in the food supply; in the power to receive or assimilate and in the structural or functional activities of the body.  Disease is an effect and not a cause.  It is an effect from the disturbed vital health and the state that we call disease is always a result of a previous condition of un-health.  If we take disease as a starting point and attempt to trace it backwards, there are three topics which emerge for discussion, namely, the Etiology, Symptomatology, and the Effects, or results of disease.”

In the Notes on Principles of Osteopathy, Dr. John Martin Littlejohn further writes about the Principles of Treatment where he states that…..“Osteopathic work is palliative or curative.  Palliative treatment aims at the mitigation of pain, or the relief of some inflammatory condition, exudation, accumulation, etc.  It is accomplished mainly by the relaxation of muscular contractures and through the sensory nerve connections.  The curative work is corrective of irritability, having a three-fold object in view.  All treatment is, or ought to be, directed to the vital force through the property of the irritability of tissue, of which nerve tissue is the most highly irritable.  Every lesion involves some modification in the irritability so that the principles and practice of treatment should appeal to the irritability or to the vital force through the irritability.  In appealing to the irritability we first correct the condition of the muscles, bones, ligaments, nerves, blood vessels and so on in order to alter, or modify the irritability.  Secondly, hyper-irritability at a particular local point is lessened by inhibitory pressure over that point.  The inhibition equalises the impulses of their irritability and distribute them equally among all the different parts of the body, using the vital force as the governing principle of the distribution.  Similarly, equal distribution may be obtained by a moving pressure to stimulate when the irritability is sub-normal.  The curative work appeals more largely to the motor or efferent side of the nervous system. While the palliative work is valuable to check pain and inhibit the excessively stimulated processes which are tending to the pathological condition, the curative work employs the three methods described to restore the adjustment, coordination and cooperation of the structures and tissues through the efferent side of the nervous system.  The corrective appeals to the body as an animated mechanism based on physiological mechanics.”

To read more of “Notes on Dr. J.M. Littlejohn’s Principles of Osteopathy” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £10.00 here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/notes-on-dr-j-m-littlejohns-principles-of-osteopathy-centenary-edition/

Osteopathy Notes on the Technique and Practice

Osteopathy Notes on the Technique and Practice

by | Apr 12, 2016 | Bookshop

Osteopathy - Notes on the Technique and Practice

Osteopathy Notes on the Technique and Practice

Osteopathy Notes on the Technique and Practice was edited by John Wernham in 1975.   Subjects covered include The Physiological Movements of the Spine; Osteopathic Diagnosis; Osteopathic Treatment of the Knee Joint; The Sacro-Iliac Articulation; Analysis of Side-Lying Technique; Disease of the Veins, Haemorrhoids; The Abdominal Cavity; Osteopathic Neck Technique; The Fevers; and Osteopathic Psychotherapeutics.  In his Introduction John Wernham writes that “The Notes have been selected from the best authoritative works published on osteopathy, and include lecture material and illustrated techniques to cover a wide field in osteopathic practice.”

John Wernham further writes in Osteopathy Notes on the Technique and Practice that “Physical medicine, as it is applied in the manner and style peculiar to osteopathic technique is not to be modelled on the latest medical theory, or discarded in favour of a new discovery in medical teaching.  Natural Law is unaware of changes in terminology, and the conditions that Nature demands for the maintenance of good health are the same yesterday, today and forever, regardless of the most advanced thinking in medical circles.

This is not to suggest that osteopathic technique and practice is content to remain at a standstill as medical techniques advance.  Such a notion is absurd.  But advance in one field of treatment can mean regression in another, particularly if Authority is weighted in favour of the one and at the expense of the other.  We have much to learn from other skills and other methods of treatment but it might be well to remember the words of the Chairman’s address delivered at the Inaugural Meeting of the Osteopathic Institute of Applied Technique, ‘….it is necessary always to preserve what many of us feel to be genuine osteopathy and, moreover, to develop it.  We have no quarrel with others, but we do feel that there is always an outside pressure on osteopathy which, if we react to it rightly, is perhaps a good thing; we can learn things from others.  But there is also an original osteopathic idea which is different from the medical idea and different specifically from the orthopaedic idea.  So much literature is produced in medical and orthopaedic circles that it is rather difficult for all of us, and particularly perhaps our students, to correlate it to genuine osteopathy and preserve genuine osteopathy.’ ”

John Wernham concludes his Introduction commenting that “The section on the fevers is printed exactly as it was delivered in the lecture room.  The purpose here is simply to capture something of the atmosphere of the living occasion and it is inevitable that the rules of syntax become lost or confused.  If the experiment has not succeeded from this point of view, perhaps the brevity of the note-form and the extended content will repay the busy student sufficiently well”.

To read more of “Osteopathy Notes on the Technique and Practice” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £12.00 here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/osteopathy-notes-on-the-technique-and-practice/

Applied Anatomy

Applied Anatomy

by | Feb 3, 2016 | Bookshop

Applied Anatomy

In Dr. Marion Clark’s Applied Anatomy, the Editor, John Wernham, writes: “Clark’s Applied Anatomy was well known to the former generations of osteopaths for whom it was a standard text.  Written by an osteopath for osteopaths it highlights those aspects of the human anatomy that are of greater importance in our clinical practice.

First published in 1906, the book, now more than 100 years old, was quite unknown to British osteopaths.  Therefore it was considered that the time had come to repair this omission in our teaching programme and prepare a new edition of this most valuable work and was first published in 1986 by the Maidstone College of Osteopathy.  This is now exhausted and a third edition is hereby published.

The third edition, as was its predecessor, is dedicated to all those early pioneers who have laboured in the establishment of Osteopathy and who built the foundations upon which our present development is sustained.”

In the Preface to Applied Anatomy, Dr. Marion Edward Clark opens with the comment  “Realizing the close relation existing between anatomy and osteopathic therapeutics, that the science is built on anatomical and physiological knowed, I in 1901 outlined a course in a subject that I chose to call “Applied Anatomy”. This book is the outgrowth of that attempt to anatomically explain the signs, cause and treatment of disease.”

In the Introduction of Applied Anatomy Dr. Marion Edward Clark writes that “Disease, in the average case, is due to disturbance of structure.  Even in cases of disease resulting from abuse, there is often found some structural change.  In all diseases, whether from abuse or other causes, there are to be found structural changes, peculiar to the disease.  These structural changes, are in a general way, called lesions.  Lesions, therefore, may be muscular, ligamentous or bony.”

To read more of “Applied Anatomy” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £40 here: http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/applied-anatomy/

 

Lesionology

Lesionology

by | Jan 12, 2016 | Bookshop

Leisonology

Lesionology

Dr. John Martin Littlejohn’s lectures on Lesionology include: The Cervical Region; The Dorsal Region; Vertebral Lesion in the Neoplasms; The Tenth Dorsal Region; The Ninth Dorsal Region; Bone Lesions and Infectious Diseases.

J.M. Littlejohn states in the book entitled Lesionology that “The osteopathic lesion is not to be regarded as a malformation, or even a maladjustment of structures, but should be defined in terms of mobility.  That is to say, the lesion is a physiological and not an anatomical condition.  It is a modification of the movements of extension, flexion, rotation and sidebending as an isolated change, or an abnormal and artificial group movement.

In the lesion field, the involuntary movements are chiefly at fault, and the technique of diagnosis and treatment is to be discussed from the point of view of mobility, locally and generally.  The physiological movements for the purposes of adjustment are represented by the normal movements of the body trunk, the extremities, and parts of these in so far as they are unified in the body activity. Therefore the central factor to be considered is the gravity centre and the gravity lines of the body, all movements being around some axis in relation to these central lines, or points.

The movements are in circles, or modifications of circles.  The foundation of the body and its equilibrium of movement is found in the pelvis, which represents a circle, or its modification.  These movements are all in relation to the sacro-iliac articulations, the fifth lumbar and the sacral articulation on either side of the pelvis.  Also the sacro-coccygeal articulation as a unit of the gravity line movement and the triangles of the body trunk.  Lastly the femoral articulations in relation to the innominates, forming the angles of the basal triangles of support, and foundation for the trunk and the extremities.”

J.M. Littlejohn states further:  “In the acute lesion the synovial membrane shows a slight redness and the amount of synovial fluid is increased, while on the lymphatic side there is some oedema of the membrane.  In the chronic state the membrane is irregular and thickened on one side.  Post mortem there is often found a small pad of fatty material left by the disturbance of the articular relations, and derived from the synovial membrane with which the surfaces are continuous.  The pad of fat is larger where the articulation has been disturbed by strain – as in the sprained ankle.

In the early stages of the lesion condition, the most noticeable effect is that of oedema.  In the second stage there is fibrosis of the ligaments, especially the capsular ligament, followed by changes in the tendons of the muscles that move the joints with a resultant stiffening, or rigidity.  At this stage there is swelling of the periosteum over the articular processes and around the insertions of the tendons.  The joints are painful on movement and mark the beginning of the immobility which leads to the arthritic articulation.  The swelling is hard, especially on the side of the strain, indicating capsular ligament involvement, and corresponding to that side to which the spinous process is rotated.”

J.M. Littlejohn also comments that: “Frequently, an apparent lesion is a compensatory change and, in the case of vertebral immobility we find hypermobility in the neighbouring joints, which is a natural attempt to compensate for the effects of the rigidity.  The hypermobile condition is due to: (1) Weakness in tension of the supporting cartilage, ligament or muscle.  The lost tone should be re‑established and the rigid vertebrae corrected by simple articulation from the hypermobile to the rigid area, (2) An oedematous condition of the discs, caused by acidosis which should be dealt with dietetically, together with persistent traction-extension.  Simple articulation of the vertebrae towards the area of rigidity will correct.  (3) In some cases the group in which the lesion is present may be normal, but outside the group compensation may exist in the form of rigidity, swelling etc.  Although the vertebral lesion is individual, the treatment is for the group and in the arch relation.  Note that 7C and 9D are the key vertebrae in problems of group lesioning, the articulation moving from the key to the lesion field.  (4) The passive movement of an articulation.  If the lesion is recent, the mobility is increased, the elasticity of the joint muscles and the tonicity of adjacent muscles being diminished, resulting in an imbalance between the hard and soft tissues and laying the foundation for oedema.  In the treatment first attention must be given to the tonicity and elasticity before correction is attempted.  Begin by stretching the soft tissues in relation to rotation of the arm down to 8D and flexion and rotation of the leg from 5L to 9D.  Follow with spinal articulation towards the lesion.”

 

To read more of “Lesionology” you can purchase a copy from the JWCCO Bookshop for £10.00 here:http://www.johnwernhamclassicalosteopathy.com/dr-j-m-littlejohns-lectures-on-lesionology/