Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1911-06-22
NUMBER 81
What Is Rest
Eminent Specialists Show Value
OF Exercise and Dangers
Of Fatigue

That no cOnSumptive can hope
for a cure of his disease without
following the most rigid routine with
regard to rest is the conclusion of
four interesting articles In the Jour-
nal of the Outdoor Life for June, by
Professor Frederic S. Lee of Column
bia University, New York, Drs.
Lawrason Brow and F. H. Heise of
the Adirondack Cottage Sanatorium,
Trudeau, N. Y, DR.. Joseph H. Pratt
of Boston, and Will M. Ross of Ste
vens Point, Wis.
Professor Lee, writing on the
subject The Physiology of Exercise
and Rest" shows by experiments on
dissected frogs the way in which
exercise tires the muscles and, in
fact, all the organs of the body. He
says:
There is no known antidote to
fatigue, unless it be rest. with all
that rest implies. Sleep allows the
reparative process of rest to be per-
formed most quickly and completely.
A moderate degree of fatigue, or
even a considerable degree when
not too often incurred, is not detri-
mental to a healthy body and is
even to be advised, The healthy
body is provided with great recupe-
ratiYe powers, and does not RAPIDLY
.suceumb to even excessive demands
on its energy. Rut it should he
allowed the proper condition for
recuperation, and that condition is
adequate rest. There is danger when
the fatigue Of one days labor is not
eliminated before the next days
work is begun. The effects may
then be cumulative, the tissues may
be in continued state of depression,
and the end may be disastrous"
Drs. Brown and Heise in and
article on Properly Regulated Rest
and Exercise in Pulmonary Tuber-
culosis," hold that the action of the
poisonous germs of the disease on
the body isvery similar to that of
overexercise. The poisonous irrita-
ton caused by the germs gives the
organs and tissues of the body dou-
BILE load to carry. They emphasize
importance of rest in the treatment
of tuberculosis, but also insist that
properly regulated exercise is very
necessary. They state their conclu-
SiOns thus:
; Exercise when properly regulated
and Systematically graded is an
important factor in the treatment
of pulmonary tuberculosis. Through
it the patient is il. many cases re-
turned to home and family with
lessened chances of future relapse.
At the same time part of his earn
ing capacity is restored and he is
restored and he is consequently
financially less dependent upon
others, relieving him of much worry,
expense and hardships"
DR.. Pratt, who was founder of the
first Church tuberculosis Glass in
the United States in the Emanuel
Church in Boston, claims that in the
treatment of tuberculosis absolute
rest, often in bed, must be extended
over a period of months, before the
consumptive should take any eXer-
else. He says, Prolonged rest in
bed out of doors yields better results
than any other method of treating
pulmonary tuberculosis. Patients
will have better appetite and take
more food without discomfort and
gain weight and strength faster than
patients with active disease who
are allowed to exercise. COmplica-
tons are much less frequent. When
used in the recipient stage recovery
is more rapid and surer.
Mr.. Ross, who is himself cured
consumptive, and writer of consid-
cradle prominence, holds that unless
resting becomes a business to the
tuberculosis patient, he might as
well give up his fight for health.
The period of infection with tuber-
culosis," he says, is not a vacation.
1t is a enty-four-hour-a-day job