EXERCISE AS A REMEDY. 629 



merits, hydro therapy, and hygiene ; all these involve exercise in 

 a fundamental sense, and are of great therapeutic utility, even in 

 febrile states, where exercise of the skeletal muscles is absolutely 

 contraindicated. 



The professional and domestic occupations, recreations, and 

 sports have been noticed in their relation to the hygiene of exer- 

 cise, and it is desirable that these means, which are within the 

 reach of such large numbers of people, should be more often util- 

 ized therapeutically. For this purpose it should be remembered 

 that many exercises have a preponderating effect on certain organs. 



"Rowing tells on the breathing organs; the work of dumb- 

 bells, and of other exercises where muscles are moved without 

 progression of the body, tells most on the muscles themselves ; 

 and long pedestrian feats, with climbing, tell on the nervous sys- 

 tem. In cycling, as in running, it is the heart and circulation 

 that first give demonstrative evidence of important change of 

 action" (Richardson). 



Housework, chores, gardening, walking, climbing, cycling, run- 

 ning, swimming, and many other sports give just the kind of 

 exercise that is indicated in certain conditions, due regard being 

 had to the physiological effects of varying dosage. Oertel has 

 shown how the simple exercise of walking may be adapted to 

 sufferers from cardiac debility by prescribing the distance and 

 speed, and the number and length of the rests, on definite paths 

 graduated according to their slope. His interesting and original 

 work has not only given a new direction to the treatment of cer- 

 tain cardiac affections, but is destined to have an important in- 

 fluence in establishing accuracy in the prescription of exercise. 

 Whoever has studied the map of the environs of Reichenhall, Ba- 

 varia, prepared by Oertel for the application of his method, will 

 acquire a vivid idea of what precision of dosing in exercise means. 

 In this map the different paths suitable for the work are marked 

 in four different colors, to indicate those that are nearly level, 

 those slightly sloping, moderately sloping, and steep, and figures 

 are placed along each route to show the space that should be 

 traversed in each quarter hour. The locality itself is prepared 

 for its remedial use by placing benches for resting at suitable dis- 

 tances, and by marking on certain trees near the path circles, col- 

 ored to correspond with the map, to indicate the difficulty of that 

 particular section. By systematic practice on the easier paths the 

 heart and system are progressively trained and strengthened. In- 

 telligent analysis may do the same work for cycling, horseback 

 riding, and many other familiar exercises. In this way the dosage 

 is practically reduced to a definite number of kilogrammetres in a 

 given time, and a step has been taken in placing the prescription 

 of exercise upon a scientific basis. 



