Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-07-13

erected 1hlS is encouraging and does
not make the disease as bad as it was
at first thought to he. 1t is easy how
ever, for over fatigue and the old idea
that as much exercise as possible tends
towards improvement is not a good one.
1t Ia necessary to get rid of the old
ideas of infantile paralysis and It's
prognosis. The fact that a case can be
picked up no matter how far along, and
that the muscles are weakened rather
than totally destroyed is extremely en-
couraging, and we now approach the
question of poliomyelitis with optimism.
Modern treatment of the disease as
modified by Vermont work and study
shows:
l. Massage is of value because it
empties the veins and lymphatics and
/ thus promotes the flow of blood TO the
| limb, and because it apparently retards
| musclar atrophy and promotes muscular
| tone. More than this, however, is not to
| be expected of 1t. 1t does not promote
! the passage of nervous impulses from
/ brain to muscle. and its action must be
considered purely local Given roughly
| or for too long a time It Is detrimental
| and retards progress, and its overuse
| Is probably responsible for much harm
| q Electricity has been much discussed,
and in the absence of definite data one
must fall back on personal experience
| Faradsm causes a mild muscular con-
| traction. and may be useful form OF
gentle exercise. 1t is disagreeable, and
to young children often a source of
terror. The galvanic and newer forms
of currents are assumed to have a
beneficial effect In general. but in many
years experience in treatment with and
without electricity Wsed often on one
side of the patient only with the other
side as controD the writer has never
| been able to satisfy himself In a single
| case that 1t was of any value. Certain
recent experimental work on the retarda-
ton of atrophy in denervated muscles
is of interest. ut is practically certain
that If electrical stimulation has II
beneficial effect, the optimal effect will
be with that current which Is strong
enough Just to cause contraction. In the
ordinary methods of stimulating muses
| through the skin, whether by unipolar
| or bpolar methods. with currents of
long or short Duration the intensity of
the current is much greater in the
superficial than in the deep fibres. and
we think it doubtful whether the latter
can be stimulated without using currents
| injurious to the former"
! That the use of electricity has done
much harm is undoubted because not
only is the use of strong currents ad
nittedly injurious, but the routine use
of electricity often deludes the ply
stefan and parents into thinking that
the child is receiving adequate treat
mant while measures of admitted value
are neglected.
3.-Muscle training is in DIR. Lovett's
opinion the measure Of the greatest
value at this stage. and this stage is
important because however operative
the surgeon may be he will during
these two years use homeopathic
treatment.
Muscle training attempts to drive ar
impulse from brain to muscle to enable
1t If possible to open up new paths
around affected centers in the cord.
Muscle training is the sheet anchor
of Vermont as was shown by DIR
Lovett, who used chart showing tbs
Improvement made in a group of pa
tients by this method. DR. Lovett
closed by expressing the appreciation
of those who are working on this dis
ease with the courtesies that they have
received from the Vermont health Off
GERS and physicians
The next speaker was DR.. f. G. Mar
tin of Harvard University. who gave g
report of the study made of 80 cases
all of which We're subject TO super
vision in their muscle exercising. Ir
these 30 cases there were / 400 mus.
cles tested 351 of which were partly
paralyzed. OF the ISL 265. or four
hfths. are stronger to-day than they
were A year ago. 26 are Just as strong
and 81 are not quite as strong. TIL.
next thing to he discovered by thu
test was how had these muscles gained
1t was learned that the unaffected
muscles in the growing child gainet
about 90 per cent, while the affected
muscles gained 60 per cent, or three
times as much. This percentage wa.
taken from the total average which
means that many gained much more
than this percentage. The great thine
about the muscle test is that 1t en-.
ables the physicians TO put their fing.
ers upon the one muscle which Is MOI
|. gaining. Those which gained for 6
time and then went back are stronge,
now than they were before the treat
ment was begun While much depend:
upon the parents of the child in giving
the proper exercises the child mus
CO. operate. 1t is so very easy to over.
use the muscles that too much care
cannot be taken to avoid over training
Dr. Harold L. Amoss of the Rookie
, TELLER Institute of New York told OF
the discoveries which have been mad.
at the research laboratory at the col
lege of medicine which was fitted on
, and is being carried on under the di
rection of the State board of health
1t has hecn ascertained that poliomye
litis is an acute infectious disease anC
that it is caused by a definite organ
ism as is tuberculosis or typhoid fever
This organism, while II effects the ner
vous system principally. infects the
whole body. lnfantile paralysis or
ganism is the smallest organism We
the most usual route by which it il
discovered and taken into the system
of the human is not through skin infec
ton, through the lungs or intestine
tract. but through the nasal mucous
membrane.
The normal carrier of the disease il
the relative of the patient. and tn,
carrier may never show the symptoms
but a nasal wash may show the dis
ease in acute epidemic form. 1t is no
carried BY domestic animals. it is
disease of people and transferred from
person to person. No vaccine for it
prevention has yet been made. As
prevention a Gordon should be thrown
around the patient garding against thu