Gould believes that astigmatism is a prominent factor in the causation of spinal curvature; the curvature is affected by the tilting of the head to one side in reading or writing.
But a faulty postural habit is probably the most frequent cause both in standing and at the desk. When the weight is supported by the right leg, the left being used merely as a prop; there is a marked C-shaped curve produced, with a lowering of the right shoulder and prominence of the right hip. This position is assumed by school children for long periods of time, and there is a consequent overstretching of the ligaments of the spine and hip. These cases are generally accompanied by round shoulders and flat chest, protrusion of the abdomen, and rotation of the vertebræ.
A muscle can be developed only by the active contraction and relaxation of its fibers. Continuous tension quickly tires and lowers its tone, so that exercises given for increasing muscular power should be comparatively quick and frequently repeated, while those that aim at the stretching of muscles and ligaments should be slow and long maintained.
In all cases where corrective treatment is needed the first thing to be attended to is the general condition, and the best hygienic conditions must be provided, the general health inquired into and attended to. In all cases the eyes should be examined by a competent oculist.
All exercises and stretching movements should be given daily, with a period of rest after three or four movements, and they should be so alternated and combined that no two, employing the same muscles in the same way, should follow one another, and so cause excessive fatigue.
The Muscles of the Abdomen.—These muscles are most important for breathing and therefore for health, for the retention in their normal position of the various abdominal viscera, for good digestion and regularity of the evacuation of the bowels. Sluggish digestion and constipation are among the commonest evils in life, and they are generally connected with relaxed abdominal walls and flabbiness of the abdominal muscles. Active pressure of the abdominal muscles on the viscera massages the liver and presses onward the contents of the intestines.
The protuberant abdomen may either be due to a faulty position in standing or an excess of fat in the great omentum, a membrane intended to protect the bowels. This excess of fat may be in turn due to lack of exercise or an excess of sweets and starchy foods, and the reduction of this superfluous fat by suitable exercises, properly taken, together with the attention to the diet, not starvation, is the only common sense and safe way for a woman to reduce her size.
The abdominal muscles are used in bending, in stooping forward, in raising up from the recumbent position, somewhat in climbing, and in many other movements. Trunk bending forward and backward; lateral flexions of the trunk; bending of the knees down to a squatting position, together with torsions, and all exercises derived from these types, bring into play and exercise the abdominal muscles.
EXERCISES FOR DEVELOPING THE VARIOUS REGIONS OF THE BODY
The following list of free exercises has been selected primarily for developing the lungs and chest and correcting deformities, such as round shoulders, stooping attitude, and beginning spinal curvature, when due only to muscular weakness and faulty attitude in standing, sitting, and walking.