Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 2323

ELIZABETH KENNY (1886-1952) Infantile paralysis and cerebral diplegia; methods used for the restoration of function. Angus & Robertson 1937 xxxviii, 125 pp., plates. 21.4 cm.

As reports of Sister Kenny's work with patients suffering from the effects of anterior poliomyelitis and cerebral diplegia began to reach America and other countries from Australia, battle lines were drawn throughout the medical profession. Some supported her work as a great therapeutic breakthrough while others disclaimed it as a fad supported with inflated claims and lacking originality. Her book reveals that she had capable professional guidance and that she was correct in her basic methodology and therapeutic approach, although she and her colleagues had some faulty ideas concerning nerve and muscle physiology. She taught the necessity and importance of both active and passive graduated exercise, hydrotherapy, the elimination of restrictive braces and splints, and the development of a positive attitude by the patient and health care team.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 4671

Gift of John Martin, M.D.