Evening star., 1944-05-07

new rheumatism center, In conjunction
with all other branches Of medical
theraphy and such physical medicine
treatment as artificial fever and mas
sage, and the natural facilities provided
by the hot mineral springs in this
area.
Rheumatic Fever.
Hench declared the most important
rheumatism problem In the Army at
present Is rheumatic fever. He said
the number Of cases annually In the
Army approaches s.0oo-l0.0oo, and that,
up to now, only about 30 out Of
every 100 soldiers who suffer rheumatic
fever have been considered as suitable
to be returned to any kind OF duty be-
cause of the fear Of possible recurrence.
The Surgeon General and his associates
hope to at least double that salvage
figure
Concerning chronic arthritis, he as
serted there is no evidence to indicate
that Army life has especially increased
its incidence and that the Army rate Is
about equal to that of similar age
group In civilian life.
He drew this optimistic picture:
I'VE are finding that in many cases
where a man thinks he has arthritis or
other forms of rheumatism, his pain is
merely the result Of a state of emo
tional tension brought on by his slow
adaptation to the change from civilian
to military life. It has been amply
demonstrated that q man can suffer
temporary blindness or paralysis as
result Of highly nervous state.
so, too, is it with certain cases of
actual pain which we are describing as
false rheumatism The pain is there
all right. but the sufferer, still in his
state of tension, is prone to exaggerate
his symptoms, with the result that we
see the darndest limps and gaits i'm
ag1nable. We have means of detecting
this false rheumatism and most of these
men can be returned to full duty when
the cause of their emotional tension is
determined and proper steps taken to
ease it."
For the actual arthritis victims, the
Army is beginning to prescribe increased
physical activity-to prevent them from
winding up as rheumatic derelicts" in
a wheelchair.
The proper amount of revitalizing rest
Is definite part of the schedule along
with the newer forms of medical treat
ments. but the accent is on more physi-
cal effort once the disease is being
brought under control.
1he purpose OF the newer regimen
is twofold." explains Col. Hench. First,
II Is our belief that movement of af-
1ected joints, ranging from modified mo-
tions carried on without any weight
bearing, to more extensive motions
"nen the man gets on his feet. con-
trloute to the improvement of the arth-
rltic condition. This keeps the Joints
from becoming fixed and the muscles
needed to move them from wasting
away.
secondly, when a man is active tn
the limits of his ability, he is less prone
10 develop wheelchair or crutch psv-
cnology, the despairing attitude that
because he's afflicted he has no further
stake In life"
telling Them What to Do.
Says Maj. w. J. Lee who directs the
entire reconditioning program:
IN the past we've told the arthritic
Don't do this; don't do that Now
we're telling him DO this, do that In
the past we haven't always insisted
that he extend himself to the limit of
tolerance. We're going to do it now"
And Capt Edward w. Boland, chief
of the section on rheumatic diseases,
explains the educational side of the
reconditioning:
They're being taught how to live
with their arthritis and not for it." he
says. They're being taught to make
arthritis their avocation rather than
their vocation. They're told all we
know about the disease, given instruc-
tions regarding balanced diets, and told
Of the value of heat. massage and vari-