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166
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1913.
Deal St. Whitechapel (Girls)—(Dr. Peters).—23 children were included in the class and
examined ls^ May, 1913; Shave left the school or ceased attending class; 15 remained in the
class till the final examination—22nd Jan, 1914. Of the last named, some of whom had more than
one defect, there were, at the beginning of the class, 7 cases of kyphosis, 5 of lordosis, 2 of scoliosis,
5 of round shoulders, 4 of shoulder down, 2 of hips prominent, and one of rotation of vertebrae;
but in January it was found that the following defects had improved or recovered:—kyphosis, 5;
lordosis, 4; scoliosis, 1; round shoulders, 3; shoulder down, 3; hips prominent, 1; rotation of
vertebrae, 1.
The chest measurements of the above 15 cases were:—increase deflated 0.86 inch per child;
increase expanded 0'88 inch per child ; increase in "Expansibility" 0 01 inch per child. The agegroups
were, born in 1900—8 children ; 1901—3 children; 1902—1 child; 1903—2 children;
1904—1 child.
The class has been exercised for 20 minutes every morning, between 9 and 10 o'clock, in the
Girls' Hall. In general, rubber-soled shoes were worn. The exercises practised were those contained
in the Board's manual, from Standard IV. upwards. At the end of these exercises organised games,
generally of a competitive nature, were practised for about 5 minutes. The class was capably
conducted.
As regards the general deportment of the girls, and increase in briskness, physically and
mentally, there could be no doubt as to the marked improvement. The increase in girth of chest, deflated,
showed a probable improvement in nutrition, after allowing for the natural growth in girth of
chest in girls of this age. The increase in "expansibility" was not great. The defects noted at the first
examination, which consisted almost wholly of kypho-lordosis, with accompanying round shoulders,
were all of a slight nature, and as they were not fixed, but mostly merely temporary postural
deformities, it is, perhaps, not too much to claim that the numbers of defects improved by the
exercises received were actually as high as 18 out of 26. It was evident that efforts had been made
also to correct the tendency to lordosis from over extension of the spine when called to stand
at attention. One case was excluded from the class and sent for hospital treatment because of the
advanced nature of the deformity.
Eltringham Street, Wandsworth (Girls)—(Dr. Duncan).—This class was held in the Girls'
department of the above-named school from April 10th till December, 1913, when it was discontinued.
The class was composed of 25 girls chosen from the different classes on account of bad posture and
various slight deformities, e.g., narrow chest, round shoulders, etc. They were all minor defects and
none of the cases required medical treatment. The class was held in the hall for 20 minutes each
morning. As many of the girls as possible wore special drill dresses so that the movements could
be well seen by the teacher. The following were the defects found:—round shoulders and flat
chest, 11 ; mouth breathers, 5; light scoliosis, 4; narrow chest, 3; general malnutrition and poor
physical development, 2. Special attention was given to deep breathing. The chest measurements
were taken in 21 cases (1 had left and 3 were absent) and it was found that 9 were the same as at the
first examination, 9 had increased ¼ inch, 1 had increased ½ inch, 1 had increased 1 inch, 1 had
increased 2 inches. All the girls had gained in height. There was a decided improvement in the
physical condition of all the children. They were smarter and carried out the various movements with
greater precision than one usually sees in the ordinary drill class. The head teacher states that their
work in the classroom showed great improvement.
"Highway," St. George's-in-the-East (Girls).—(Dr. Ruth Balmer).—There were originally
twenty-three girls in the class; there were in January, 1914, only eighteen, and of these five were
absent at the final inspection. The class was held every morning for twenty minutes. The children
wore their ordinary clothes and in many cases these were quite unsuitable, their movements being
hampered by numerous skirts, stiff and constricting corsets and heavy boots and shoes. This
interfered much with the progress of some of the girls. But in spite of the fact that only three of
the girls wore rubber-soled shoes, their movements were wonderfully noiseless and light. The first
exercise of the class is always ''handkerchief drill." By this means the air-passages are cleared,
and it is an excellent preparation for the other exercises. None of the members of the class suffered
from any marked deformity. There was one case of slight scoliosis, which is now practically cured.
Six of the girls were round-shouldered and these had all improved. Five of them were more or less
mouth-breathers. They showed marked improvement. In two cases the shoulders were uneven in
level and this was still the case. With two exceptions the dimensions of the girls' chests had
increased, the average increase being—inflated, 0.84 in.; empty, 0.79 in. The general muscular
tone of the girls was good. The Headmistress reports a general improvement in the girls. She
said, " They show more self-control and concentration on their work."
Hungerford Road, Islinqton, W. (Girls.).—(Dr. McHattie).—This class was started in August.
The girls, of whom it consists, were selected by the Head Mistress and medically examined at the
beginning of the autumn term. Those passed as suitable numbered 20, and their ages ranged from
8 to 13 years. No girl showing any evidence of valvular lesion of the heart was admitted to this
class. The girls were drilled daily in exercises adapted from those prescribed by the Board of
Education.
Of the 20 girls who entered this class 17 were examined a second time on January 21st. Of
these 3 were cases of lordosis, of which 2 showed marked antero-posterior curvature; 4 were cases
of scoliosis with dorsal curve to the left; 10 showed both lateral and antero-posterior curvature. Of
other deformities present there were—4 cases of flattening of the chest; 1 case of genu valgum;
1 case of marked rachitic curving of both tibiae.
The time during which this class has been held is scarcely long enough to judge of definite
results so far as the actual deformities are concerned; but, though the number noted as improved
in this respect is small, most of the girls show a tendency to stand and walk better. Of the 17 girls
6 showed definite and marked improvement. Of these 6, 1 had marked scoliosis, 4 had both lordosis