WHAT IS ORTHOPAEDIC MEDICINE?

The term “orthopaedic medicine” was used by Dr. James Cyriax in order to indicate the branch of the medical science that deals with the examination and the non-surgical treatment of the conditions affecting the moving parts of the locomotor system. It has always been a grossly neglected section of medical tuition. This leads to situations which are inconceivable in other branches of the medical profession: diagnoses remaining vague, treatments being ineffective and superficial.

“Orthopaedic medicine” is not an alternative medicine. It is initially a method of clinical diagnosis whereby the doctor and/or the physiotherapist evaluate the patient’s complaints in order to reach a precise diagnosis which enables oriented therapy.

Dr. James H. Cyriax, M.D., M.R.C.P., F.C.S.P. (1904-1985), orthopaedic physician in London, is the ‘father’ of orthopaedic medicine. He was the first to develop a system within the clinical examination. The ingenuity of the diagnostic system lies in its simplicity: the standardized examination method permits the recognition of clinical pictures, the differentiation of conditions or the oriented referral for accessory examination.
This approach is in most cases superior to the actual tendency of examination via technical investigations.

• It is built upon a number of essential pillars:
  a proper understanding of referred pain and the embryological origin of structures
• a good knowledge of the functional and topographic anatomy
• an accurate and systematic history taking and clinical examination technique based on the principles of selective tension
• a precise judgement of the nature, way of onset and evolution of most disorders.

The precision in the delineation of the condition often permits oriented therapy: injections/infiltrations, deep transverse friction, capsular stretching, manipulation, traction, etc. These therapeutic techniques can perfectly well be integrated in a total treatment strategy as is applied nowadays.