138 ACTION OF MASSAGE. 



broken down, the further changes then occurring as above noted. 

 The same is true of the system of pressing on and rubbing recent 

 exostoses with a flat piece of wood, which was customary in former 

 times, but the comparative inefficiency of this rudimentary massage 

 lies not so much in the fact of the operator failing to observe the 

 proper direction as in his altogether neglecting treatment until far 

 too late. 



Long ago Bayer pointed out that in veterinary practice we cannot 

 expect the extensive and successful application of massage which 

 obtains in man. We have already noted that in man the hair is 

 removed and the skin lubricated to prevent pustular eruption. In 

 animals, however, we cannot shave an entire limb, and even if the 

 hair were removed we are able to apply massage in the proper 

 centripetal direction only in a few places, like the neck and back ; 

 at almost all other spots where massage is to be employed we are 

 forced to work against the direction of the hair, which is very difficult. 

 Bayer attempted to overcome this difficulty by the use of massage 

 rollers consisting of small hollow cylinders covered with, or entirely 

 constructed of, rubber. Such instruments, however, cannot replace 

 the hand, which so readily adapts itself to the varying contour of 

 the body and allows so much more perfect an estimate to be formed 

 of the pressure employed than can be obtained in any other way. 

 The exact degree of pressure to be used is difficult to judge, and can 

 only be learned by practice and experience. Excess causes injury 

 and delays improvement, as one often sees when the treatment has 

 to be left in lay hands. Bayer preferred to forego massage altogether 

 rather than leave the manipulation to the owner or coachman. The 

 pain caused by pressure and kneading, especially where much force 

 is employed, sometimes renders it necessary to resort to means of 

 restraint. The action of massage is considerably increased by sub- 

 stituting for mere lubricants ointments containing substances which 

 promote absorption. 



Active and gradually increasing exercise produces similar results, 

 chiefly by improving blood and lymph circulation and increasing 

 metabolic changes. 



Massage is applicable to a large number of diseases and their 

 sequelae. In infiltration of the cornea with milky deposit, not due 

 to cicatricial formation, massage is applied in the form of circular 

 and radiating rubbing. As horses with disease of the eye usually 

 resist interference, it is necessary to proceed with caution. The 

 hand is first passed over the side of the face furthest removed from 

 the eye and gently advancedjmore and more closely to the diseased 



