Sciatica: Pathology and Treatment with a Clinical Study of Fifty Cases

Kirkland, Alexander Adam (1949) Sciatica: Pathology and Treatment with a Clinical Study of Fifty Cases. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The history of the progress to the modern conception of sciatica has been sketched. This shows that the conception of sciatica as a neuritis predominated until 1934 when Dandy and Mixter by their work drew attention to displacements of the intervertebral disc as a cause of sciatic pain. This is now held to be the commonest single cause, and in the series of cases described in this thesis, this opinion is supported, and an explanation offered suggesting that the so-called fibrositic type of sciatica is of central origin, viz. caused by lesions of the inter-svertebral disc and adjacent ligamentous structures, the changes found in the muscles being secondary. The position is maintained, that sciatica is still a medical disorder, and that surgery should be reserved for those cases which do not respond to medical treatment. Surgical treatment should be as conservative as possible with conservation of the articular facets especially, in order to maintain the stability of the spinal column. A method of investigation of a case of sciatica has been described and attention has been drawn to the correc-stion of postural and other deformities by orthopaedic and physiotherapeutic measures. The use of local anaesthesia both in investigation and in treatment has been described.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Medicine, Pathology
• Date of Award: 1949
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1949-79784
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 31 Mar 2020 09:09
• Last Modified: 31 Mar 2020 09:09
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/79784