THORAX
The average chest measurement of the child at birth is from thirteen to thirteen and four-tenths inches; thus it is seen that at birth the circumference of the chest is about a half inch less than that of the head. The circumference of the abdomen is about equal to that of the chest. The transverse diameter is practically the same as that of the antero-posterior, but as time goes on and the child develops, the transverse diameter increases more rapidly until about ten years of age when the shape of the thorax becomes about the same as that of the adult. The diameter of the chest increases at the rate of about one inch per year until the average of thirty inches is reached at about the age of fifteen. During childhood the thorax should be carefully observed for deformities.
Subluxations in the upper dorsal region may result in faulty postures, which in turn will result in various deformities of the thorax. If this faulty posture is not corrected and the child is permitted to grow into adult life with the deformity, it can readily be seen that such deformity will become permanent. In such cases the dorsal subluxation should be adjusted early in life to overcome the faulty posture. Innate will then take care of this temporary deviation from the normal shape of the thorax. Deformities of the thorax often indicate Pott’s dis-ease, curvatures of the spine, rickets, emphysema, empyema and cardiac disturbances. In such cases a very careful analysis should be made and the subluxations adjusted to remove the cause of the condition to which the deformity is adaptative.