New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-30
LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA,
THE AMERICAN DIsCovERER OF A MECHANICAL
TREATMENT FOR 1T.


TO the MAJOR Of me Trfbnne.
Sir: Tn recent Sundays issue you ascrD'. under
the caption OF Go Hang Yourself" the credit OF dis
covering the mechanical nature and treatment OF loco
motor atayia progressive paraly Isl 10 "a young
Russian physician, who "suspcnds his patients 10y
the head and shoulders" The tric dlscoverer OF the
mechanical nature and treatment of locomotor ataAa
spinal curvature and many other difficulties IS Dr
f. p. Banning, of Garfield, Ohio. In 1752 in work
entitled Common Sense in Chronic Disease he an
nonnccd the following propositions The human body
materially con ,idcycd, is machine. from It's grosses
organ TO its finest cell The internal organs are under
the law OF position TO another and out OF normal
position functional disturbance will follow. Ihcir
normal position consists I'm being braced and packed
from below upward and the surrounding abdominal
and spinal muscular tissue are the consultative
agencies When muse ular relaxation permits descent
of the neal visccra internal organs) upon the organs
in the abdominal and pelvic cavities there Is cor
responding loss of support the trunk by tho drag
gng upon the parts above. inducing curvature OF the
spine, functional disturbances q, the heart lungs ana
stomach. and by the pressure upon emerging nerves.
veins and lymphatus, causing coli1e'S OF the 1rct
numbncss and paralysis" He adds: only such me-
chanical forcs as remove Eight can be OF the
slightest advantage tho treatment of these dill
culficsn
lie constructed table that could be made plane
at any angle and from the head OF this used TO s
pend by the head and shoulders his OF allure
irritation. locomutor ataXa In 1872 he ahahdohcn
II for mechanical supports Of his dcvisng that llicl
the weight Of the head and shoulders from OF emerging
nerves and iniamcd cartilage and membrane, AMI
abdominal weight of descending arteries and a.
ccnding veins. In 1906 he published IN 1.-THE Thlla
dclphla Medical and Surgical Reporter series OF
papers on "Trunkal Muscles and Locomotor AtaXia'
and in 1857 his great work, Earnings Mechanical
Pathology and Therapeutics"
n was in 1868 or 1866 that he addressed the stu
dents at Bellevue his subject being The Mechanical
Natlro AMI Treatment of Spinal Irritation, Concus-
sion, CARES and Accompanying Locomotor Ataxia.'
Tho address was enthusiastically applauded. and
Say1r, Of plasterjacket notoricty especially euo-
gistIc saving: at Is the first common sense ever
shown on this subject In year or two atl'cW;'"l
the plaster Jacket appeared. In 1869, DR. tanning
published The Plaster Jacket Compound support.
an Analysis of their Comparative Merits In i me
ChcfSchOCp, Squeezing muscle paraIyHinR actoh
Of the Jacket numerically sc"r@l Reading y
rOw I'm the light Of the Jackets disastrous record II
seems lille prophecy.
/ think I've made it clear that DR.. T. p canning IS
not only the dscOverer OF the mechanical nature ana
treatment of locomotor ataXia put a;ro
and It's many diseases knew him
when he first dashed into the closed RANKS Of medical
ignorance, Intolerance and ncompccncy; II cost
him his prarti and fortune IIut III" thousands h'
has rescued from beds and chairs Of helpless cap
tvlty and restored to active lives. Will see TO II
that he does not lose thc honor h" has won.
Dayton. Ohio April 0, 1-e9. J. h. CARPENTER.