New Ulm review., 1922-03-01
Age Limitation of Sports.
DR.. H. Toeppen, St. Louis.


A few remarks on age limitation Of sports
may be welcome to some of our readers and
may help to throw additional light upon the
question, since they are based on personal
experience and partly upon observations
made on q number of personal friends.
| think that the question is highly i'm
portant one, not only for the physician as
one is likely to be consulted upon it, but for
any one whose personal health, welfare and
working power may be greatly increased
by giving up the idea that athletic sports,
etc, are a privilege Of youths and young
adults, and by claiming a full share Of
them for himself at all periods of his life,
at all places and at all seasons. 1t is, Of
course, entirely futile to lay down age limits
of general applicability, because the ex-
tance. | have seen man Of about twenty
seven, healthy and fairly good looking,
whose muscles were SO utterly neglected
that he could not hang from swinging
ring (at rest) holding on with one hand,
whereas | know, on the other hand,
quite a number of men in this city who are
past fifty and can easily climb twenty-foot
rope hand over hand. | know many men
who get completely exhausted if they run
ten or fifteen yards to catch car, at the
same age when others are able to compete
IN sO-called marathon races. Nobody can
say that age has nothing to do with the
kinds OF sports especially, but-neXt to
health-habit and practice are far more
important.
AS to hardening of tissues, rlgldlty OF
arteries, ETC., as a consequence of age, there
is no rule of general applicability. 1t is
Well-knoWn that Harvey found the arteries
intact in a man who died at, one hun
dred and fifty-two years of age (Thomas
Parr). A long time ago, had occasion
to examine man of sixty-eight, whose ac-
cessible arteries showed no evidence OF
sclerosis, and whose pulse was. enviably
good, so that should have insured his life
from this standpoint without any hesi-
tation. He died few years ago, eighty
seven years old, without any acute dis
ease Nobody can doubt that arteries
which are left undisturbed day after day
and are just expected to keep up sluggish
circulation, sufficient to supply more or
less (bodily) lazy business man, will as
sumo a good deal Of rigdity at about forty
or earlier. But arteries which are made to
respond to sudden or energetic calls for in
creased and lively circulation, without fre-
quent excessive demands-every day, will
last q good deal longer in consequence of
improved nourishment of their walls and
more lively eXcretion of waste and stagna-
tiOn products. If we stand by saying "a
man is as old as his arteries, this considera-
tion leads us with necessity to the most
general recommendation of sports for every
body, everywhere, and at all times. Only
--individualize and study yourself as well
as those recommended to your care.
think there is sport, sport-like pastlme and
physical exercise for every age, from six to
seventy years and over, and for all coun-
tries, climates and circumstances. .
[ wish those athletic directors who are
of the opinion that football should not be
played after twenty-five would give their
anatomical and physiological reasons fully,
also give the material on which they base
their conclusions. Football, especially rug
by, is pre-eminently a game of endurance.
When could it be played better and with
greater safety than at that period of life
when the skeleton is fully developed, the