The Southern herald., 1888-03-10
BENDING FORWARD.



geriOrs Disorder Which Comes e 4-l
preston Of Blood Fssssi4.
Every one knows that stopping tor
ward, particularly after rising quickly
from the bed ia the morning, when
the stomach Is empty and The hehrs
has less than ordinary support iron
tbe.yiscera below the diaphragm -
very ait to occasion form Of faint
ness, with vertigo. not unlike that
which occurs in seasickness. we DO
not at the moment speak Of the faint
ness and giddiness from cerebral
anmmia which are directly consequent
upon suddenly assuming tho erect after
long continuing in the recumbent
posture, but Of the more alarming sen-
sation of being id the center Of objects
which are rapidly passing away. usual
" from left to right, with lossot power
to stand or even SIT and an almost
nightmare feeling of inability 70 eah
for help, or do an thing TO avert
catastrophe. while throughout the ex-
perience the sufferer retains acute con-
sciousness.
This, we say, is familiar as one, at
least, Of the effects not uncommonly
produced by STOPPING forward under
the special conditions indicated. With
many other varieties Of the vertigo
consequent upon heart weakness or
carahral anmmia observation or OK.
perienco has made us all acquainted.
We can NOT, however, help thinking
that the consequences Of even par
tial compression Of veins Of the neck,
offering an obstacle to the return Of
blood from the head. with its impcr-
tant organs, are not so well recognized.
The peculiar form--or, more accurate-
ly. the several forms -of headache dis
tinctly caused III this way when the
head is long bowed forward on the
chost, bending the neck on itself cam
not fail to occur to every one; nor Will
the high tension Of the eyeball, the
turgid and heavy eyelids, the snuthng
nose, the deafness. with buzzing and
throbbing in the cars, the heavy
bre athing and the pulled and perhaps
| flushed or darkened color Of the face,
resulting from the obstructed venons
circulation through the bended neck.
be forgotten.
There are other and more perilous.
though secondary, effects Of leaning
forward when the heart is weak Or the
blood vessels are not as strong as they
ought to be, which should not be over
looked. Beyond question the extra
strain upon the apparatus Of the cir
culation by any thing that impedea
the free passage Of the blood through
almost any part Of the venous system
is more severe and dangerous than =
physically equal strain thrown on the
arteries. AT least this IS 80 in adult
life, and, without going further into
details in connection with the modus
operandi Of the mischief to which We
point, 1t may be permissible to urge
that the subject is one to which At
tention may be usefully directed.
The weakly and those who are moi
unlikely to have hearts readily over
burdened and blood vessels stretched
beyond recovery, or even rupturedl
should be warned quite as earnestly
against suddenly assuming. q
too long retaining, any post
ures which do-however slightly
and partially--inpede the return q
blood through the veins. We know
how prolonged sitting may cause The
veins Of the legs to extend and eithel
give way or permit the extrayasatiof
of their contents. When this sort o
thing happens, even though in trifli NJ
degree, in the case Of vessels directl.
connected with such delicate organ
as the eye. the ear and the brain, u ]
easy to see that the results may b
very serious in their character; AM
| probably few postures commonly takei
up by persons who lead somewha
sedentary lives are so prone to do mis-
chief unnoticed as that Of leaning for
ward as at work at table which
q not sufficiently high to insure tn
! head being so raised that the veins Q
: the neck may not be in any way com
! pressed or the return Of blood fr0n
q the head embarrassed or delayed. w
see reason to believe that II this Al
/ parently small matter were general
understood there would be fewer head
and heart troubles. and we will 60
!. far as to say that some lives now los
4 would be saved. - London Lancet