Deformities form gneral bad Health conditions
Before prescribing special exercises for deformed parts it is necessary to know what the contributing causes are and to correct these. Naturally nothing can be done if the conditions which created the deformity are allowed to persist. Deform¬ities which have been caused by rickets or aggravated by over¬weight call for careful regulation of the diet. Deformities resulting from poor posture, and general low vitality, call for measures to stimulate and build up the body.
In case of flat-foot or broken arches, the improper shoes, which cause or per-petuatc the trouble must be thrown away. Sometimes a deformity in one part of the body will be a kind of compen¬sation for a less obvious defect in some other part. Spinal curvature, for example, shows itself in uneven shoulders, chicken-breast, etc. Some deformities—especially eye troubles, and deformities resulting from poor posture—are due to un¬due or long continued strain on some part of the body in cer¬tain occupations. The clerk may grow hollow-chested. The postman may have uneven shoulders. In such cases if the oc¬cupation cannot be given up, conditions and exercises which balance the particular strain must be worked out.