The Washington bee., 1895-10-05
MEDICAL VIEW or BICYCLING.
W at French Doctors Think OF tho Use
and Abuse of the Wheel.

and Abuse of the Wheel.
In the last number Of the Maryland
Medical Journal is an Interesting dis
cussion of '@The Therapeutics Of Bicy
cling" being a translation by DR.. E. NJ
Shaeffer, of this city. from an article IL
the Revue d'Hygiene Therapeutdque, OF
Paris. The effect of cycling on health
has been better studied in France, per
haps, than elsewhere. France has, says
the article under notice, 900 riders oi
the wheel, and in Paris alone last year
$4,000 railway passes for wheels were
issued. In France officials, bankers, pro-
fesaonal men, artists, society every
body-use the new style of locomotion for
purposes of business, pleasure or exer-
else. So general has its employment be-
come that horses have there, as here, lost
much of their value. The wheel sue
ceeds, it is thought, because, in the opin-
! ion of the French, ''it summarizes in
some measure most Of the physical exer-
cises and adds to this pleasure in move
ment carried to Its maximum" This Is
substa ntially the verdict Of our own Mrs.
Mary Lease, the Kansas politician, who
has taken recently to the wheel and says
of it: "It Is the next thing to having
wings"
AS respects the effect Of cycling on the
health, French medical opinion is decid-
edly favorable. The bicycle does not, it
is held, produce any Of the various dis
eases that have been credited to it, but,
on the contrary, when used with due
caution, has a beneficial effect. Persons
suffering from various diseases in an ad-
vanced stage WILL of course, ask medical
advice before undertaking any kind Of
active exercise, but, within limits, cyc-
fling is a mild, pleasurable stimulan:
which may improve ones physical con-
dition. It is denied, for example, that it
produces heart disease if used in moder-
alton. There is no exercise" it Is stated,
more gentle and more easy to regulate
than that taken on the wheel. It Is less
fatiguing than walking and puts in play
the whole of the muscles, even those
most deeply situated. 1t accomplished
ventable stirring up of the internal or
gans, and, facilitating the passage Of the
blood in the vessels, lessons the work Of
the heart at the same time that it is ton
ing it up" 1t Is denied also that wheel
ing in strict moderation favors conges-
ton Of the liver or other internal organs.
doubtedly greatly increase albuminuria,.
and it is urged that subjects whose
liver and kidneys are not sound ought
carefully to avoid excess on the wheel,
as we'll as all other kinds Of excess" II
the saddle is properly constructed, the
injuries it is credited with are not pro-
duced
Children, it is argued. should not use
the bicycle till they are 13 or IA years old,
owing to their disposition to go to excess
and neglect to keep a good position. If
allowed to ride they should be accom-
panied by older persons capable of con-
trolling them. They should be required
to sit upright and to avoid undue effort
to climb hills or make speed or goagainst
a strong wind. No rider, should risk in
jury to the spinal column and chest by
habitually bending forward and grasp
Ing the handle-bar near the middle Ac-
cdents are due chiefly to excess OF speed
in rapid descents, the rider thus losing
control of his wheel. The discreet bicy-
clist, it is suggested, will have solid,
well-kept wheel: will avoid fatigue: will
not ride soon after a full meal, and will
ascend steep hills afoot.., Excess is be-
trayed by loss of appetite and inability
to sleep from fatigue.
For dyspepsia cycling is esteemed BEN
eflcial or even curative. It has this eff
feet in part through the mechanical ac-
ton exerted on the stomach by its mas
sage and by the general stimulation Of
all the organic functions. rheumatism,
gout, diabetes. passive congestions Of the
internal organs and all infirmities affect
ing people Of sedentary habits are like
wise best opposed by this form Of exer-
else. Anaemia and nervous maladies
yield to the wheel, If approached grad
lally and with care. For sad ideas and
It Is a sovereign cure
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