The official birth of the Lyon Method dates from the publication in 1827 of a book by Charles Gabriel Pravaz: "New method for the treatment of deviations of the spine". Charles Gabriel Pravaz was not only a doctor, but also an engineer, a pupil of the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris. He is the inventor of the syringe, but above all he is the first to combine exercises and orthopedic devices to reduce vertebral deviations.
In Lyon, he founded the "Bellevue Orthopedic and Pneumatic Institute" where his methods are applied. The majority of the principles of physiotherapy were already used at that time: active axial elongation by climbing rope and spiral ladders, nocturnal vertebral traction, correction devices in the frontal plane. A large swimming pool illustrates the coupling of physical activity with mechanical means of correction.
One of the engravings in the book provides a better understanding of the characteristics of the Lyon Method. The patient is placed in the scoliosis correction position very close to the current Schroth posture. The feet are on a rocking platform called “orthopedic swing” and illustrates the reprogramming of the sensors of the extra-pyramidal postural system in corrected position which is at the basis of the Lyon Method...