Some Orthopaedic Problems In Indians And Eskimos

TB of the hip or knee often results in a need to equalize limb length, but Eskimos do not and cannot normally wear shoes. Instead, they wear mukluks made of seal or caribou skins. It is therefore almost impossible to given them a shoe elevation on one side. The same situation applies in an Eskimo requiring extensive bracing following poliomyelitis. In lower-limb amputations, a peg or crutch-end type of prosthesis could not be used because it would go through the snow crust. Generally accepted positions of fusions of hip or knee joints may prove unacceptable because of their way of life. There is a very high incidence of congenital dislocation of the hip. From a paper given at the Refresher Course for Occupational Therapists, organized by the Alberta Society of Occupational Therapy - November 1959.