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. 2016 Nov;24(4):537-545.
doi: 10.1177/0967772014565565. Epub 2015 Feb 19.

Nerve-stretching in the 19th century

John Russell Silver, Marie-France Weiner  1
Affiliations

Nerve-stretching in the 19th century

John Russell Silver et al. J Med Biogr. 2016 Nov.

Abstract

Operative nerve-stretching was first described in 1872 to relieve incurable pain from sciatica and tabes dorsalis. It became popular for 20 years and numerous articles were published on the subject. It had many complications but relief was only transient and, consequently, it fell into disuse. This paper analyses the literature, contemporary views on the benefits of nerve stretching and its influence on more recent neurological practice.

Keywords: Nerve-stretching; sciatica; tabes dorsalis.

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