PRECURSIVE ACTIVITIES OF LVIV DOCTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC GYMNASTICS, ORTHOPEDICS, AND REHABILITATION IN GALICIA FROM 1847 TO 1918

The article presents the little-known pioneering activity of doctors working in Lviv, the capital of the Galicia province in the Austrian Monarchy, for the development of therapeutic gymnastics and orthopedics from 1847 to 1918. Analysis of source materials from archives, medical magazines, and daily newspapers shows that therapeutic gymnastics was introduced for the treatment of locomotor diseases in Lviv at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Initially, it was based on the German method and then replaced by the Swedish method. At the same time, orthopedics emerged from surgery, with its origins related to the habilitation of Dr Antoni Gabryszewski at the University of Lviv. The main role in this process belonged to Lviv doctors, graduates of universities in Krakow, Lviv, Prague, and Vienna. They conducted scientific research at the Medical Faculty of the University of Lviv and made numerous trips to renowned centers in other provinces of Austria, as well as in Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. Due to their scientific work, as well as the knowledge and experience gained from foreign scientific visits, they founded and managed facilities where they applied orthopedics, healing gymnastics, mechanotherapy, physical therapy, massage, and orthopedic equipment. Most facilities were comparable in functionality to renowned foreign centers. The pioneering activities of Lviv doctors contributed to the development of orthopedics and healing gymnastics in other Galician cities and influenced the establishment of spas throughout the province. In later years, this activity furthered the establishment of orthopedics, comprehensive rehabilitation, and spa therapy in Poland and Ukraine.