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Show Underwater Treatment By DR. JAMES W. BARTON Bell Syndicate. WNU Service. T SOMETIMES wonder J- whether the new methods of treatment for pain and stiffness in muscles and joints have not made us forget some of the methods used hundreds, yes thousands of years ago. There are more "pain killers" available now than ever before, many of which do excellent work in emergencies or when other methods are not suitable, and all of which get away to a great extent from the necessity neces-sity of using opium. When we think of the hot baths used so many years ago to ease pain and prevent stiffness as compared com-pared with the modern mod-ern method of using pain killing drugs, the hot baths may seem crude and clumsy. However the big point about easing pain and getting get-ting stiff joints loosened loos-ened up is that the hot water allows Dr. Barton movement without causing too much pain and increases the blood circulation circu-lation in the part. As you know objects are "lighter" under water and so the raising or movement of a crippled or sore arm or leg under water is done with less effort and pain than when out of the water. In Europe there are many "bath" sanatoriums in charge of physicians of high standing. These physicians are called balneologists (balneo meaning bath). What German Experts Say of It. The Berlin correspondent of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports a paper read by Balneologist Hartel before the Berlin Ber-lin Medical society recording the good results obtained by the underwater under-water method employed at Warm Springs, Ga. Films showing patients under systematic exercise under water wa-ter were exhibited. At this same meeting Dr. Scholtz of the Virchow hospital in Berlin spoke of his experiments with lame persons. Movement in a crippled arm or leg is almost always first made possible by the removal of its weight in water; after the first movements, continued regular bathing bath-ing and exercise increase the strength of the limb and its power to control movement. The removal of the weight of the limb because it is under water allows the patient to exert his whole power and attention on the movement instead of on the effort of the lifting of the weight of the arm or leg. A child shown by Dr. Scholtz who had been entirely crippled by infantile in-fantile paralysis had now the normal nor-mal use of his limbs after receiving this treatment. This underwater treatment should be of great help in loosening up old stiff rheumatic joints, or in injured in-jured joints where the pain of movement move-ment has brought on stiffness. Underweight Who Feels 111. A physician meeting a friend on the street jokingly criticized him for allowing himself to get so fat; in fact added a little warning as to the consequences of carrying so much extra weight. The friend quite calmly replied, "Well, I've just been down to the hospital to see a very thin friend of mine who is confined there. As I went through the wards I had a chance to look into a few private rooms as I was passing. I didn't see any fat patients; they were all very thin." Generally speaking thin men and thin women may live longer than those who are fat but there is a degree of leanness or underweight that carries with it nervousness, lack of energy, lack of concentration, concentra-tion, and early fatigue. These individuals indi-viduals feel so weak and dispirited that they are constantly consulting not only their own physician but many others. And the strange thing is that after careful examination while there may be such simple conditions as blood pressure slightly below level, and the temperature slightly below normal, there is, in most cases, no organic condition found. In many cases the reason these thin individuals do not feel well is because they have been born with "nerves." Other cases have acquired ac-quired "nerves" because of some underlying defect in the body, or because they have been under severe se-vere strain or emotional disturbances. disturb-ances. Dr. E. V. McCollum in his book, "Food, Nutrition and Health," thus describes these thin patients: "These are the restless, active, and over-conscientious people who habitually work beyond their capacity, capac-ity, because their strength is so limited lim-ited They worry and expect the worst. They are possessed with fear for their health, fear of failure in business or occupation, fear for the safety of family and friends Most of them have digestive disturbances." |