Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-10-10

SSesSs~eeN0t
lgoing.
j At the 18th notch he let his arm
! fall and grinned, That's the
farthest I've got vet"
1 The notchcd rod Ii one Of the
many devices used at the Army Air
Forces convalescent center here to
help wounded AAF men measure
their progress toward recovery.
Suffered Muscle Cut.
The flyers only discernible in
jury was an inch-long scar on his
back near the shoulder. A piece OF
max had struck when the flyer was
over Rabaul. The fax went deep.
cut muscle. When the flyer came
to the center he couldn't life his
arm.
The center lost no time in start
ing him on the long road to re-
covery. The day he arrived here
a doctor examined him, recon-
/ mended exercises and sent him to
the gym-the focal point of the
physical reconditioning work here.
At the gym physical training
expert took him In hand. He was
asked to lift his arm as high as it
would 60. It moved a few inches
from his side. The physical trainer
carefully measured this range Of
motion. Then he outlined q set Of
exercises, explained just why the
flyer should work out on q turning
wheel that would gradually bring
unused muscles into play, told him
how much recovery he could expect
and introduced him to the notched
stick.
Can Wash Neck Soon.
| The flyer can raise his arm
almost shoulder high now.
Pretty soon." he said, cycling the
notched stick, I'll be able to wash
my neck"
Physical reconditioning is made
as much of game as possible here
Eliminated is the old theory of
telling a man to clench and I'M
clench his hands 20 times a day, or
to do calisthenics to restore muscles.
There's as little monotony as pos
sible in the Pawling routine.
All the convential equipment
rowing machines, pulley weights
wheels and bicycles-are used to
make old muscles work again or
shift the strain to unused muscles,
but the experts here have worked
out whole set of new devices to
reach the particular muscle affected
Look Like Joe Cooks.
Some OF these devices have a Joe
Cook look about them - weird
combinations of straps, ropes and
weights. One Of the handmade
devices is a rope slung over q bar
with hand grips on each end of it
AS the man pulls down on one side
Of the rope with his good arm, the
bad arm is automatically lifted.
The idea behind that one is tina,
If physiotherapist tries to force
the arm up, the man will think
this is going to hurt" and hi.
muscles will tighten automatically
This way, he does the whole JOB
himself.
Mirrors with signs warning
Check Your Posture" decorate the
gym. A man can cheat" involun-
tarily by twisting to the side to give
himself the illusion he's making
progress unless he has the miro,
to see that he stands straight ano
leaves the work to his arm.
Races for Others.
| For the men suffering from leg
finjuries-those who have Just come
Tout OF = fracture cast or have had
their leg muscles severed-anothe,
etsof devices Is used. Races around
the rack, which forms the balcony
OF the gym, measure the progress
OF these men. The men race against
others with the same injuries and
against themselves, trying to beat
the record they set the day before.
Posted on the side of the wall are
racing forms" to report their prog
ress from day to day. One lieuten-
ant who had lost his kneecap took
lH seconds to negotiate the required
210 yards the first time. At the end
of three months he was whipping
around the track in 80 seconds.
Men with dropped feet" 20
around the track on their heels
Those with injuries to their calves
go around on their toes. =
As soon rs the men can take 1t
they are assigned to sports calling
for the use of the muscles to be
restored. A group of men with
noticeable limps play a daily game
Of touch football. The rules are re-
vised to avoid roughness.
Have Many Tricks.
One man whose shoulder muscles
were shot away usually plays bad
minton with one of the trainers
The instructor keeps the bird above
his opponents shoulder line to de-
velop the patients upward reach
Combined with exercises and the
sports are massage, hydrotherapy
and X-ray treatments.
One pilot, for instance, suffered
a brain hemorrhage in a crash In
the South Pacific. From head to
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