MASSAGE AND MEDICINE

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21436, 30 March 1935, Page 18

MASSAGE AND MEDICINE

MANY USES SUGGESTED ADDRESS BY DR. R. H. BAXTER , 1 The extent to which massage is at ( present used in medical practice and , the possibilities of extending its use j were outlined by Dr. R. H. Baxter in an address on "The Role o£ Massage in Medicine" at the conference of trained masseurs yesterday. Dr. Baxter said that massage had not as yet been used to its fullest extent, partly for economic reasons and partly through the indifference of the medical profession. He was amazed to find that in a standard text-book on medical treatment only four uses were given. The work was that by Beckman on "Treatment and General Practice," of which the latest edition was published in 1934. It was widely used throughout the English-speaking world. His remarks, he added, applied only to massage itself and not to the various forms of electrical, heat, and light treatment. The modern age demanded such spectacular treatments, but they would probably fall into obscurity while massage itself would still survive. Useless in Cases of Hysteria After dealing with the uses of massage in the treatment of fractures and sprains, rheumatism and other conditions where, without massage the public would be sadly oft", Dr. Baxter mentioned his one exception to the use of the treatment. This was in cases of hysteria in which pain was felt, but was due to an idea in the brain without any diseased condition in the structure of the part affected., In these cases the treatment would be applied where the nerves were in a sensitive condition, and would not only make them more sensitive, but would fix the idea of pain in the patient's brain. The best remedy was to send the patient for a holiday away from doctors, nurses, and practitioners of every sort. There were also several less common uses where massage was advantageous. The first was insomnia. A case had recently occurred in which a patient suffering from insomnia in a severe form had been unable to secure any relief from the administration of drugs and narcotics. Massage had been tried and the results were very successful. Some months later the patient was still doing very well, from, say, April to August. Again cases of general debility, in which patients had lost weight responded very well to massage. In oedema, which was due to waterlogging of the tissue cells in the body massage caused a briskening up of the circulation and led to a better and more normal condition, having a beneficial effect on osmosis in the body. Some cases of constipation "had been wholly cured by massage.. An Unexpected Field There was, moreover, an unexpected field for massage in the treatment of other conditions. In cases of thrombosis, in which clotting in blood vessels occurred and there was vascular degeneration, the treatment used often deprived the patient of valuable ex-1 ercise, and massage was therefore advantageous. It benefited the patient immensely, toning him Up and diminishing the risk of further thromboses as well as keeping the muscles in trim. Irj cases of vascular hypertension, or raised blood pressure, caused not by kidney trouble but by hereditary disabilities, massage helped to elimin-

ate the tension of the sympathetic nerves on the arteries. This trouble occurred in highly strung people. It could be helped greatly if people underwent a regular medical examination, so that the disease could be de- , tected and treated in time. Diathermy i could be used, though it was a palliative rather than a cure. Massage could also be used to advantage with undernourished children where there was a falling off in health for no definite reason. There was no reason why massage should not be used in conjunction with vitamin and cod-liver oil treatment, save that it did not seem to enter the head .of the practitioner. Before and After Operations A very important field was that of pre-operative therapy. It was desirable that the patient should be in the best < trim for an operation, yet so skilful was modern surgery and so great was the certainty of success, that there was , a tendency in the case of minor operations to neglect the preparation of the patient. Yet there was no doubt that massage would tone up the body through stimulating blood circulation, and would be very beneficial if applied to the site of the incision. After operations, too, massage would be useful in cases where patients could not move, and would help a proper venous return. Dr. Baxter said that there must be numerous other disorders where massage could "be used. He was prepared to advocate all he had said.