634 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



take with great benefit some forms of passive mechanical move- 

 ments, given after the Swedish system with power machinery, 

 and which cause them to execute walking movements, respira- 

 tory movements, and trunk flexions while reclining, and with a 

 minimum of effort and fatigue. Neurasthenics less severely 

 affected can take such movements from the start, and they are 

 indicated where the effects of exercise in equalizing the circula- 

 tion and nervous activity, developing respiratory capacity and 

 the supply of oxygen, increasing peristaltic and hepatic action, 

 and nutrition, are desired for patients who are physically too 

 delicate or who have too little energy or persistence to be able 

 to get much benefit from exercise where vigorous volitional co- 

 operation is involved. When the latter can be successfully pre- 

 scribed the patient is well on the way to recovery. 



Exercises of endurance, like cycling, rowing, and running, 

 pushed to the point of considerable fatigue, are the most effective 

 aids to continence, since the procreative impulse is the expression 

 of a surplus of energy, and is abated if enough energy is regu- 

 larly used up through muscular work. 



As the larger number of functional disorders of the digestive 

 system, such as dyspepsia and constipation, are the result either 

 of the habitual neglect of muscular exercise or else of exercise 

 taken under conditions of hurry, nervous tension, or fatigue, it is 

 clear that the regulation of exercise and habits of life mnst be 

 urgently indicated. In conditions of atony the patient must be 

 trained to a variety of exercises, especially those involving the 

 waist, abdomen, and trunk, among which the more active ones 

 may be gradually introduced. In the cases due to debility from 

 nerve tire, exercises requiring much skill should not be chosen, 

 since these involve increased demands on the higher nerve 

 centers. As there is usually sluggishness of the abdominal circu- 

 lation, those exercises should be selected which will act on the 

 abdominal organs through the muscles of the waist and trunk 

 and upon respiration. Among the best of these is riding, which, 

 moreover, affords just enough variety of scene and interest in the 

 control of the horse to turn the current of an incessantly active 

 brain into new and more restful channels. Riding may be as 

 accurately dosed as walking, and may range from very gentle to 

 exceedingly severe exercise, according to the gait, training, and 

 disposition of the horse, the muscular development, tempera- 

 ment, and expertness of the rider, and the character of the ride. 

 Changing from one mount to another also gives more variety of 

 exercise than always riding the same horse. Abdominal massage 

 is sometimes useful in constipation, as are also the arm, leg, and 

 trunk movements of the Swedes or of the gymnasium, and walk- 

 ing, running, leaping, tennis, and other sports have their uses. 



