5 o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



for that length of time on crutches. The foot and ankle were very thin, 

 cold, and clammy, and even very gentle manipulation caused consider- 

 able pain. I could not make out, from all the history which I could 

 gather from the lady herself, with the help of her sister, who accom- 

 panied her, that the so-called injury had been at all serious, and I con- 

 cluded that what had been supposed a serious injury to the ankle had 

 simply been a circumstance which had established a condition of appre- 

 hension in regard to that locality. 



A careful examination satisfied me that the lameness was in the 

 mind, referring to the foot and ankle, but without any sufficient injury 

 of the parts referred to to cause lameness. It was therefore the mind 

 rather than the foot and ankle which ought to be treated, and it was 

 the mind which I did treat, with success. There was no excessive fear 

 here, as there is in many cases, but simply pain on using the foot. Of 

 course there was the misapprehension with regard to the nature of the 

 case, and correcting this misapprehension was one important element 

 in treatment. But such correction only put her en rapport with her 

 treatment, but did not alter the fact that it did hurt to bear weight on 

 the foot. In such cases it is important to give some time for the emo- 

 tions to adjust themselves to what the intelligence accepts on the sub- 

 ject. In the mean time something was given her to do, some uses of 

 the foot which would fall far short of attaining the point of pressure or 

 motion which her experience had shown would or might be painful ; 

 that is, she was required to never approach the point where she had 

 been accustomed to expect to be hurt. Thus the element of expectancy 

 was gradually lessened, and finally eliminated entirely, so that in a few 

 weeks she could walk as well as ever. This was twelve years ago. She 

 has never had a relapse, and is perfectly well to-day. This is one of 

 the classes of cases out of which the so-called " bone-setters" make so 

 much capital. 



The foot, ankle, knee, and hip joints are all frequently referred to 

 when there is no organic affection at the point indicated by the mental 

 impression, and I might go on almost indefinitely relating instances, if 

 time permitted. But it may be sufficient to indicate the frequency of 

 disturbed psycho-biological relations to say that I estimate that not less 

 than one half of all cases applying to me for relief from joint affections 

 belong to the class under discussion. 



Before lea\ mg this aspect of the subject I think I ought to mention 

 the case of a little girl living in Williamsburgh, who, when she was about 

 three years old, saw a very lame child in the street one day, a patient 

 of mine, and when she returned home her family were surprised to find 

 her lame. The patient the child saw was affected by paralysis, but, 

 curiously enough, the child's lameness simulated disease of the hip- 

 joint. Paralysis could not be well imitated. I was consulted some two 

 years after the first appearance of the lameness, and her attending 

 physician, the late Dr. Brady, of Williamsburgh, gave me the history of 



