It was a sight her husband of 50 years had never seen before. She was lying naked from the waist down with her feet in the stirrups with a middle aged and dignified male staring between her legs and saying, "Hmm, hmm, umhumm...". The couple had been a little concerned and he thought sitting in the office with her might help them both. He had tried to be careful about including himself if his presence would make her uncomfortable, but she seemed ok with him being there. Likewise, with the young nurse and the doctor.
Turns out she is fine. But the scene got him thinking. He was over 70 years old and had seen doctors all this life for all sorts of things. Yet, he had never been in that physical position for a physician or for any reason. Just a little web searching showed that some people feel the stirrups were not helpful medically or for any other reason. Yet, it seems possible that they or something very similar might be better for a person with weak or tired abdominal muscles or for prolonged exams or procedures.
Searching for "gynecological stirrups" did not bring the same results as "gyn stirrups". The 2nd search term brought pictures of medical stirrups in use for men and mentioned lithotomies, "stone" removal from some organs. I also learned that colorful stirrup covers are available to lighten the mood and tone of the use of stirrups. Not too surprising in today's world, covers are available with an ad featuring "your wording" on the foot face of the stirrup. I am not sure how much time a patient would have to read the message but I guess it would be brief.
I had read before about the invention (Chinese, perhaps, like so much else) of the horse stirrup and the difference it made in riding and warfare. According to this article in the Wikipedia, there is disagreement about who made what inventions when and about how much effect they had on warfare, politics, military victories and subsequent events.
It is clear that in the matter of horse riding, the stirrup can kill if one becomes caught in it and dangling while being dragged. After biking in Europe for a couple of weeks, I thought I would be more modern and athletic with stirrups on my bike. When I forgot my foot was inserted in the bike stirrup and tried to dismount or even twist around too fully, I caused myself some real falls. Even examining table stirrups have several different designs for less foot fatigue.
