384 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tions of all degrees of severity, treated by many different observ- 

 ers, most of whom were French, German, and Scandinavian army 

 surgeons, in order to confirm the experience obtained in some of 

 my own cases. The invariable result of each and all was that 

 such injuries thus treated got well in one third of the time that 

 similar cases did under the usual method of absolute rest and 

 fixation, and with less tendency to subsequent weakness, pain, 

 and stiffness. Experience teaches that the sooner after a sprain 

 massage is begun, the quicker is the recovery. In Germany the 

 military authorities now require a semiannual report from their 

 surgeons upon the results of massage in injuries of joints ; and 

 the statistics of Gasener, Starke, Korner, and others clearly show 

 the rapid results of this method, and the economy of time to the 

 soldier. I fear it will be a long time before many of the physi- 

 cians and surgeons in the United States will condescend to try 

 their hands at massage ; indeed, most physicians adopt, prescribe, 

 or tolerate massage in the same way that Constantine the Great 

 embraced Christianity — more from policy than conviction. 



The orthodox treatment of absolute immobility alone in these 

 cases has little else to support it than the dogmatism of centu- 

 ries, from which it is almost impossible for a surgeon to free 

 himself, unless he has been the unfortunate victim of a sprain, and 

 had it treated with massage. Supposing a prize of ten thousand 

 dollars were offered for the quickest way to make a well joint 

 stiff, what more effectual means could be resorted to than first to 

 give it a wrench or sprain, and then do it up in a fixed dressing, 

 so that the resulting inflammation would have an opportunity of 

 producing adhesion of the parts ? And this is the prevailing 

 treatment of sprains. The same plan of treatment is employed 

 for the purpose of closing up holes in other parts of the body — 

 namely, that of exciting adhesive inflammation ; and, unfortu- 

 nately, it sometimes closes the cavity of a joint also. 



It would seem as if we had sufficient proof of the beneficial 

 effects of massage in injuries and affections of joints in human 

 beings, without intentionally inflicting similar injuries on ani- 

 mals in order to treat them by massage, and study the effects of 

 this upon them. However, much interesting and confirmatory 

 evidence has resulted from such experiments, and the effects pro- 

 duced are no longer left in the realm of theory, but brought 

 into the sunny light of science and ocular demonstration. The 

 mind of man may be prepossessed in favor of massage, and this 

 would help recovery ; of animals it can not be, unless they had 

 had massage before for a similar hurt. Animals that have been 

 treated by massage can be killed and the effects studied and com- 

 pared with similar injuries in other joints of the same animal 

 that have not had massage. Von Mosengeil, Professor of Surgery 



