#Treatment.#--In addition to the general treatment of tuberculosis,
local measures are employed. These may be described under two heads--the
conservative and the operative.
_Conservative treatment_ is almost always to be employed in the first
instance, as by it a larger proportion of cures is obtained with a
smaller mortality and with better functional results than by operation.
_Treatment by rest_ implies the immobilisation of the diseased limb
until pain and tenderness have disappeared. The attitude in which the
limb is immobilised should be that in which, in the event of subsequent
stiffness, it will be most serviceable to the patient. Immobilisation
may be secured by bandages, splints, extension, or other apparatus.
_Extension_ with weight and pulley is of value in securing rest,
especially in disease of the hip or knee; it eliminates muscular spasm,
relieves pain and startings at night, and prevents abnormal attitudes of
the limb. If, when the patient first comes under observation, the limb
is in a deformed attitude which does not readily yield to extension, the
deformity should be corrected under an anaesthetic.
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