Citation

Korres D, Markatos K, Chytas D, Andreakos A, Mavrogenis A. Int. Orthop. 2017; 41(12): 2627-2629.

Affiliation

1st Department of Orthopaedics, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00264-017-3527-x

PMID

28620739

Abstract

The purpose of this review article is to summarize the views presented in the Hippocratic Corpus of Medicine regarding injuries of the spine, their effect on the spinal cord and the optimal treatment modulus. It is shown that the treatment dilemmas of ancient times in these injuries remain modern since Hippocrates suggested that conservative treatment and letting nature take its course is preferable over a devastating surgical treatment if the spinal cord structural integrity is not compromised. There is also a detailed account of the conservative treatment suggested in the Hippocratic Corpus concerning devices and method of closed spinal relocations.

Language: en

Keywords

Hippocrates; Historical review; Spinal cord; Spine injury