Historical Review: Suspension Therapy for the Treatment of Tabes Dorsalis

Abstract

Background: Suspension therapy was developed by a Russian doctor, A. Motschutkovsky and at the end of the 19th century it was a popular treatment for tabes dorsalis. It was endorsed by Jean-Martin Charcot in France and Weir Mitchell in the United States; but after 10 years, it was abandoned because it proved to be useless and some patients developed paralysis. Summary: The effect of suspension upon a spinal cord affected by tabes dorsalis and a healthy spinal cord has been analyzed in the light of current knowledge. The benefits of suspension were thought to be due to an improvement in the blood supply to the spinal cord and due to the suggestibility or the placebo effect. Key Message: Analysis of the contemporary literature in the light of current research shows that suspension therapy was a powerful weapon that could cause impairment to the conductivity of the spinal cord and this has important implications for current therapy such as the use of Harrington rods.

Jean-Martin Charcot: the polymath

“…Osip Osipovich Motschutkovsky (1845–1903) applied Sayre's method to a scoliosis patient and noticed improvements in tabes dorsalis . 60 Inspired by Motschutkovsky's findings, Charcot assigned Gilles de la Tourette to conduct therapeutic experiments on ataxic patients using suspension therapy. Charcot observed positive results in 14 out of 18 cases, with improvements in walking, balance, pain, and other aspects.…”

“…Charcot observed positive results in 14 out of 18 cases, with improvements in walking, balance, pain, and other aspects. 60 61 However, the therapy did not demonstrate objective improvement and had associated risks and fatalities. Despite the uncertainties surrounding its mechanism of action, the treatment remained in use for over a decade due to Charcot's influence before eventually losing popularity.…”

Urtication (flogging with stinging nettles) and flagellation (beating with rods) in the treatment of paralysis

“…Consequently, established medical journals such as the British Medical Journal, the Lancet and other contemporary textbooks were consulted as was the domestic medicine literature. Finally, the authors deliberately excluded from their study other forms of treatment applied to cases of paralysis (electricity, water therapy, baths, bleeding/bloodletting, the administration of tonics, opiates, purgatives and laxatives) as these are previously documented [4][5][6][7].…”

User Centered Portable Suspension Therapy Unit Design & Testing on Healthy Volunteers

“…When the force is applied to the pendulum it results in movement 7 . In the human body, pendular motion occurs mainly at the shoulder and hip joints, forward leg movement and arm swing while walking 8 . This helps to maintain muscle properties, increase range of motion and strengthen the muscle.…”