The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1940-10-26

the home, after some simple in
struction, and which have been
found to be quite helpful.
/ feel / should emphasize, espe-
cially when exercise is considered,
that | am speaking Of chronic ar
thrills. Whenever acute rheuma-
tism occurs, or acute Inflammation
of a joint of any kind. rest and
plenty Of it is the only kind Of
physical therapy indicated.
irresponsible Exercise Harmful
The same thing applies to any
acute flare-up Of a chronic arthri-
tbs, and such acute exacerbations
are a regular part of the course Of
the condition. irresponsible exer-
else at this time is harmful. There
is kind Of self exercise these
patients take, and it never occurs
TO them it is exercise at all. You'll
see the fellow with rheumatism in
his shoulder go down the street,
or maybe he's sitting in his office
chair, and what he Graves is SYM
pathy.
To everybody he meets ne says
something like this: This dang
shoulder of mine. 1t nearly kills
me. It's the darndest thing. l can
move it right up to there" land
he moves it right up to there),
"and if / go a little farther-to
there-it hurts like the dickens"
And with that he goes a little
farther to where it hurts. He does
it twenty times day and the poor
inhamed shoulder gets as much ex-
ercise in twenty-four hours as il
he had employed a highly trained
active exercise manipulation who
has studied as much as eight
months in an institute Of learning.
No special Instructions need be
given for exercises in arthritis.
Any movement which uses the
muscles around the joint and
moves the joint itself is exercise.
When the acute period Of pain has
subsidized and there is limitation of
movement, exercise may be said
to be indicated, and any kind is
good so long as it enlarges the
circle Of movement Of the joint.
Assistive Exercise Recommended
Active assistive exercise is .
procedure recommended by DR..
Frank H. Krusen, Of the Mayo
Clinic, writing for the Council on
Physical Therapy of the American
Medical Association. No anaes-
thetic is employed, but heat is APP
piled to the joint and gentle strok-
ing massage is used to render the
joint receptive. The patient then
makes an effort to move the joint
to the full limit of its range Of
motion. The "actiye assistivey
comes from the helper who assists
in the movement, supporting the
limb and helping to increase the
limit Of the range of motion.
Slowly and carefully applied
once or twice day. this is calcu-
lated to cause marked increase in
range Of motion. Active assistive
exercise is applicable particularly
to the knee, elbow, hip and shoul-
der joints. 1t had better not be
tried on the wrist or fingers for
there is tendency for the helper
to become too enthusiastic with
these small joints and move them
too far with a poor functional re-
suit.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
E. B.:-"If one is bitten by a
black widow spider what is the
first thing to do if the person can
not get to doctor at once?"
Answer-Rest Is very impor.
tant- There is great deal Of
pain and the victim is restless and
wants to walk. around. This in
creases the circulation Of the poi.
son. Rest must be enforced.
Plenty Of water to drink and
dose Of salts to dilute the poison
apd carr,, - ~ Ia4 - III