The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1912-07-12
HARD ON THE HEART
GERMAN PHYSICIAN FINDS FAULT
WITH OUR ELEVATORS.
Advises Walking Downstairs, but Says
Use Elevator Going Up, as 1t I'm
doubtedIy Helps to Save the
Organs of Life.

A German physician who has been
visiting this country is said to have
declared that riding In our swift eleva-
tors is the cause of the increase of
heart trouble in this country. He holds
the involuntary catching of the breath
when the elevator starts or stops as
responsible.
Far from causing injury to the
heart" says the Independent, "eleva-
tors have spared that important or
gan much unnecessary strain. There is
probably nothing harder on the heart
than the going up many flights Of
stairs. The pumping Of blood through
tightly contracted muscles during the
process of lifting the body up to a
height is one Of the hardest that the
heart can have.
Men who are suffering from heart
disease have been kept at work and
enabled to do their work longer be-
cause Of the presence Of the elevator
than by any advance that there is In
therapeutics. While the elevator Is
thus so important an adjunct for the
heart 80 far as going upstairs is con-
cerned, 1t is probable that most peo-
pie would be benefited by walking
downstairs occasionally.
"a distinguished German authority
in the treatment of obesity has recon-
mended walking downstairs rather
rapidly as probably the best possible
means of taking off the surplus tissue,
and particularly that which collects IN
the abdominal region and is hard to
move by ordinary forms of exercise,
such as walking and the like. The
gentle jolting motion tends to lead to
the reabsorption of the fatty material
that is accumulated. Some American
physicians have tried the suggestion
on number of patients with report
ed success.
Besides this there is probably no
better exercise for the ankle Joints
than that of coming downstairs. One
of the most frequent sources Of COM
plant of extreme fatigue and of
achy feelings that are often supposed
to be rheumatic is the yielding of
the arch of the foot with a tendency
to the development of Indebtedness.
This has grown very common in re-
cent years, mainly because of the
small amount of brisk exercise of the
feet that men take.
We do much standing, often stand
ing even on long rides, but little rap
i'd walking. The consequence is that
the muscles which normally hold the
joints of the ankle firmly together be-
come flabby and allow the gradual
disappearance of the arch and the
relaxation of the ligamepts of the
ankle joints. Many people wear fiat
foot braces for this, and in advanced
cases such a crutch is probably nee
essary.
In most cases, and particularly at
the beginning of yielding of the arch
It would be much better If exercises !
were practiced TO restore the strength /
and firmness and contour of the arch |
rather than support 1t by artificial (
means. The elevator has taken away |
the exercise for the feet that used to |
be obtained In going up and COM |
Ing down the stairs So far as II is of |
use in facilitating ascent in the high
buildings It is an advantage. It would
be probably much better, however. If
1t were not used so much for coming
down.