The child in the photos above had numerous health problems. At age one he had an operation to repair a hernia in the right groin. In the early years, probably spread between the ages of one to five, he had several infectious illnesses which included chicken pox, mumps, whooping cough and diphtheria.

The photo on the left shows the child aged two to three years old. He is seated, with bright eyes, a healthy and robust physique, square shoulders, and a straight spine.

Between the age of three and seven he slept a spring mesh bed which sagged in the middle. At the age of five he contracted the measles which infected the muscles of the left eye and caused a squint which was treated by two operations. Afterwards he was required to wear a patch over the healthy eye to force the other one to return to normal function, but these measures failed so he was prescribed spectacles with greater magnification in the left lens than the right. He also had all of his primary teeth removed in one dental operation and the permanent teeth grew crowded together. At the age of six he contracted hepatitis and was hospitalised for six months during which time he lost much of his body weight. The changes in physique which resulted are obvious in the middle photo which shows the same child at age of six to seven sitting slumped and crumpled forward with very rounded shoulders sloping more on the right than the left, and wearing spectacles with greater magnification in the left lens.

He had his tonsils removed by surgery at age 10 to stop the recurrence of sore throats and colds. During his later childhood his parents and teachers frequently criticised his slouching and his habit of leaning on his elbows at the meal table or the school desk, but his well-intentioned doctors advised him that if he felt comfortable and relaxed while slouching it would do him no harm.

The photo on the right shows the same child aged 12. He is wearing spectacles with greater magnification in the left lens, and his facial expression shows that he is relaxed and comfortable. His physique is thin, his spine is stooped and his body is slumped, and his right shoulder is lower than his left, his chest is flattened and leaning to the right, and his legs are bowed.

This child played a lot of sport throughout his teenage years but his adult life featured numerous health problems which included multiple knee injuries involving the medial cartilages, aches and pains in both kidneys and multiple kidney stones including obstructive stones in the left kidney, chronic upper abdominal pain, and chronic fatigue with exertion impairment (the effort syndrome), breathing abnormalities, high blood pressure, and chronic recurring aches and pains in the neck and right shoulder. Many symptoms were variously induced or aggravated by sustained or repetitive postures, or by bending, twisting, or arching the spine.

For similar information on the cause of Robert Louis Stevensons physique click here.

For more information on the cause, treatment, and prevention of poor posture see The Posture Theory And Education Webpage.

"The stance of the nervous child may be described as the opposite of that which the drill sergeant inculcates so vigorously in the recruit".
The curative posture adopted in drill results in improved health and temperament."

Curvature of the upper spine often results in a counterbalancing forward arching of the lower spine which is called lordosis which according to the author of that book, pushes the abdomen forward and causes the chest to recede. This physique tends to produce symptoms of restlessness, irritability and fidgeting, digestive disturbances, and appendicitis. It is also commonly associated with sore throats, and proneness to colds and tonsillitis.

There is also an alteration in the circulation of blood which results in paleness of the skin, alterations in skin temperature in relation to exertion, and a tendency to faintness, breathlessness, palpitations, and motion sickness, which are very commonly encountered with children who have this physique.

He adds . . . "If we encounter these children, so nervous, so excitable, so easily exhausted, with their faulty posture and unstable circulatory reactions and describe them solely with the eye of a cardiologist, we shall describe them as suffering from "cardio-vascular asthenia" or the "effort syndrome". . . and . . . he observes that such children were likely to become sickly and miserable adults and undergo several forms of surgery unless their postural defect was corrected. He suggested that good exercise and good diet were important, and that children should be provided with properly designed chairs and desks of appropriate height for their bodies, and that the correction of eyesight problems was important so that children did not need to lean forward to read, in which case the constant bending caused the spine to grow stooped.

Reference: The Nervous Child (1930) p.171-189

The relationship between posture and health has numerous aspects which create confusion about which causes which. However it is most likely that various infectious illnesses, especially prolonged illnesses, which impair appetite or result in a loss of weight or a weakening of bones during the growth periods of childhood, are likely to cause the spine to stoop under the weight of the body, and unless recuperation is rapid, the postural alteration may persist.

Thereafter postural pressure on the chest and abdomen would dispose to numerous health problems. However as long as the child remains active they may be free of most symptoms, but if they change their lifestyle and become predominantly sedentary, the constant effects of stooped posture may then bring about these symptoms in adulthood. M.B.

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