116 BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



SOME RESULTS BY MASSAGE ET CONTRE-COUP. 



By W. S. BARNARD, Ph. D. 

 Abstract of a communication made December 28th, 1883. 



The application of jarring, somewhat stunning, blows in exceed 

 ingly rapid succession through a cushioned or elastic medium, to the 

 head in particular directions at certain points of the cranium and 

 face have been found in my experimentation to be simple means of 

 producing local effects on the brain for the treatment of impaired 

 circulation causing headache, &c. ; also touches of what I denomi 

 nate mechanical anaesthesia, and mechanical ataxy of local and 

 transient character were similarly obtained. By making the blows 

 very rapidly and through the deadening medium, they need not be 

 so hard as would be the force of a single blow strong enough to 

 cause a stunning effect, and the continuance of the effect is gained 

 by the repetition of strokes in rapid succession. The fleshy por 

 tion of the hand was used for applying the strokes, and any elastic 

 pounder answers. The speaker has been stunned by a single blow 

 from a rubber ball, and quickly regained his senses without any 

 noteworthy suffering, and has witnessed like cases of stunning with 

 little pain from single strokes by boxing gloves. Similar examples, 

 not uncommon, sustain the reality of mechanical anaesthesia and 

 mechanical ataxy. By applying the rapid blows to parts of the 

 head, temporary locomotor ataxy was experimentally generated 

 while walking. The blows repeated as rapidly as possible are made 

 harder and harder until with sufficient force shown by the effects 

 instantly resulting as follows, but the blows must be hard enough to 

 overcome voluntary effort ; their application in a crosswise direc 

 tion against the side of the chin caused turning and falling toward 

 the blows, but similarly applied on the same side against the cra 

 nium at a region far backward but upward from the ear caused fall- 



