The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-18
COLD WATER ON THE SPINE.
ONE SECRET OF HEALTH FOR WOMEN
VINO TAKE EXERCISE.

IneTC WcTb lnIbo VI bncms ihOy ui DoioHkcu
TO u health culture club, and they thought what
they didn't know about the human franc hadn't
been discovered. 1t might ecem queer, this be-
ing the case, that they should BIO devourinR
bricks OF leo cream after two hours OF violent
exercise in q gymnasium. But they worc.
al don't understand II at all" remarked the
tall. slender woman with the pale cheeks and
lips. After / exercise in the gym or return
from @ bicycle ride and take my warm bath l
almost collapse. My hands and foot arc like Ice
tho rest OF the day, and ! feel as languid as
a constitutionally lazy person docs In spring.
Tho same here" responded the stout woman.
"Now l always take my exercise In moderation.
II I'm In the gym l never work more than an
hour; II I go bicycling l never ride moro than
ten miles and when I walk, five miles Is my
limit. don't believe in carrying anything to
excess. For my part l believe many a woman is
in sheol, il there is such a place, from belonging
to too many church societies and attending SER
vice too frequently. My doctor told mo that II !
would only exercise In moderation and take q
warm bath nfterward / would feel oxhilarated
tho balance OF tho day and that I would have no
more ailments; but somehow 1t hasn't worked"
And s for me-" said the third woman, a
brunette who would have been pretty had 1t not
been for her dcath-liko pellor. II feel like the
last rose OF summer about the timo ] finish my
bath after exercising. It's the most curious
thing! don't take q plunge either, but merely
q hot sponge bath"
"No wonder you feel like a limp lunatic after
exercising IL you take n hot bath afterward,"
said an elderly man Joining tho group. do you
mean to say, all of you women. that you have
no better sense than to take n hot or a warm bath
after violent exercisef'
"why, my doctor advised" began the
brunette.
"Yourd doctor be dashed, interrupted the man.
"And my doctor advised" broke in the
other two, but the man interrupted again:
Your doctors be dashed, too. and so with all
the rest who go around advising their women
patients to take warm or hot baths after exercis-
ing moderately or violently"
well, you surely would not advise q cold
shower" said my lady pale lips, with a shudder
at the mere thought.
THAT would be as much of an extreme as q
hot BATH answered the man. i've studied
this question of baths for athletes for many
years, both here and in other countries. and 1t is
astonishing how many physicians give incorrect
and harmful advice on this subject"
81 couldn't give up my hot baths for anybody"
interrupted the tall woman.
Then you'll always have those pale checks
and lips that are the bane of your life.' insisted
the man. and another thing, you'll never
know tho real 10y of living physically. BY that
mean you'll never have a full. free flow Of rich
o 6Ic SSn ais sadS' %s s9qAlR1y WI. .Ihl'G to- besin s sy' sSe pfbs Be-.
ginning: Il heat, in any form, is applied to tho
spine IL tends to arrest circulation, and p%rostra-
ton in various parts OF the body is sure to fol-
low. Did any of you women, ever apply n hot
water bag between the shoulders |"
Il thought so" said the man. with n smile.
:" know that nearly all OF your sex arc slaves
hot-water bag between your shoulders and kept
II there for half an hour YOU know how cold and
clnmmy your hands and feet grow
:That'S go, admitted the stout woman can
didly,, 1T may, relieve the sharp pain in the
the feet and hands that !oliows is almost as dis:
Agreeable as the real pain" 49,.
to tho spinal nervous system. When we talk
abGnt the hs,e Gaek So19s 2 Gf n " soT1htTy T Kss msap z, that Ia!
backbone, the spine, with all its wonderful ma
chinery. is what keeps these bodies OF ours up.
Heat applied 10 the back stimulates the great
sympathetic nerve and this causes the vaso,mo'
t%ors;,,the little terminal nerves surrounding
and impede circulation. You can readily sec
how much freer circulation is after exercising,
tremendous relaxation. This is a simple state
ment OF the case, The subject is too profound
to go into in detail,
the brunette.
causes an active circulation and invigorates
one. II you come in from a bicycle ride and,
after cooling OFF. will take a largo sponge dipped
in cold water and rub II vigorously up and down
the spine. instead of rctRrding circulation IL will
increase il. Tho blood will 20 flying through
and reach every part OF your body. An English
man does not take his cold tub every morning
same old tiannc! shirt every day. but he take:
; that cold bath all the same because it Is invig
Jury and even with benefit at times, provided
the spine is not immersed"
m india rubber man or an acrObatic woman
could do that, 1" broke in the stout woman.
for nNnlnlnRn N thnri VIII n lAIEh
, land tho bather should get into 1t on his hand
. and knees with his back out OF the water. II
other words. keep your back mp when you in
dulge in n hot bath aud it can't iniure you
, Then you will get the good without the dcprSss
a ing with colds in very moderate weather. Tn,
trouble generally arises from the warm batl
suffer are also results OF a continuous use of no
Q water, and pallid lips, which are a pretty SURF
while the main good Of a cold bath can b,
obtained with only two or three inches OF waite
Q complete immersion is more v%aluasls, espe
. cially for bicycle riders and other athletes. Colt
: water NO, f%a Eh tnTisor@ a, t the skin and ne, t%Srt 10
3 i annnrsc,o GT hSnt, i It's I ars"tss, @ GOOD e1 6swere o
the sympathetic nerves and through then
Q the ysso.motors. Thus the arteries ar
v circulation Is thorough nutrition. and nutrition
o ticed that those women iivine; in hot ]countrio
who frequently plunge into a river or som
o stream for n few minutes don't know what
back ache Is. and as for nerves, why, they move
heard OF EN-. The nations given over to coli
:, baths are the strongest nations physically. Ho
baths make limp bodies, and limp bodies usual
carry about limp minds"
Q But" protested the stout woman, 1T ism
every person who can take u cold bath. Person
with any heart trouble would risk their lives !
u plunging into n tub OF cold wator, and 1t Is TO
o much OF y shock for many people who have n
& organic dispase.'
"Truo enough answered tho man. but, n
9 creature lives who would not be better for tai
Ing cold water on his back. no matter how wea
d Or diseased he may be. Take my word for it,
you take q cold bath take II on YOUR spine.
o you take n warm or a hot bath, keep the hea
away from your spine. and pro,nisr, yon tha
% woman who goes In for athletics should iollo'
those two rules. and 80 should every IN n
There's sense In what you say, commente
Ia the thin woman as they arose from tho table.
And ] for ono am going to try tho cold bat
on my back plan" said tho stout woman.
IS am T." ch:med in the brunette, and til
man walked of smiling.
Adopted Their stolen Son.