A BAY IN A FOOTBALLERS' HOSPITAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11538, 24 November 1900, Page 6 (Supplement)

A BAY IN A FOOTBALLERS' HOSPITAL.

PATCHING UP THE WOUNDED OP \ ELEVEN-A-SIDE BATTLES.

The city of Manchester boasts a unique institution in its hospital for footballers. Here almost any time during the months devoted to our national winter game may be found some of the most prominent professional players undergoing the special course of treatment mapped out for them by the proprietor, Mr. John Allison. The story of the evolution of. Matlock House, the place in question, into a special sanctum for injured footballers is a romantic one. Mr. Allison was an enthusiastic young student of massage and bone-setting, and with the object of making these studies his speciality he visited most of the principal massage establishments and large hospitals both in the United States and on the Continent. On returning to England, he had for a patient a very wealthy Lancashire member of Parliament, and so successful was the treatment of the young masseur that his patient subsequently willed him a large sum of money for the purpose of extending his system of massage. Though at first Matlock House was simply a hydro for ordinary patients resuiring Mr. Allison's treatment, on the merits of the system becoming known to Mr. J. J. Bentley, the president of the Football League, that gentleman used his influence on every occasion to bring it before football players, and in a short time Matlock House became the recognised resort for injured and broken-down footballers. Its friendly roof has at some time or other sheltered most of the leading professionals, whole teams sometimes placing themselves under a course of treatment at Matlock House. When a patient first arrives at the hospital, he is carefully examined by the proprietor and the visiting surgeon. If surgical treatment be necessary, Mr. Allison retires in favour of the surgeon for the time being; but—and the fact is worthy of notice— majority of football mishaps are not really of such a serious nature, consisting mostly of strains and twists of ankle or knee. The system employed in Matlock House is known as the Dowsing Radiant Heat system. The apparatus consists of specially- : designed electric heaters fitted with shades or reflectors, the latter being so constructed that the heat rays may be thrown upon any part of the body, and the temperature varied instantly from a few degrees above the atmosphere to a heat greatly in excess of what the human body can bear. In the production of the heat there is no combustion, so the air of the rooms remains perfectly pure. The heat can be " projected" on any part of the body, the stands on which the heaters are mounted allowing a large ranee of movement for local application. When a player places himself in Mr. Allison's hands lie must conform unqualifiedly to the rules of the establishment, which are naturally very strict, although every license within reason is allowed to the patients. The use of all intoxicating liquors is forbidden, and lights are "doused" at an early hour. As a rale, says Mr. Allison, the men make good patients, though, naturally, being of high animal spirits, they occasionally feel inclined to kick against the restraints of hospital life. In this respect, however, Mr. Allison is a martinet, and those who won't abide by his decision are promptly requested to go elsewhere. When a patient is considered able to commence playing once more, he is first subjected to a series of tests on the ground of the Manchester City Football Club, which is situated off Hyde Road, adjacent to the hospital. One does not expect to find a football player suffering from nervousness; but Mr. Allison states that the over-anxiety of many players to get on the field again frequently makes them quite nervous at these trial spins. He tells one strange incident of Spencer, the Aston Villa player, who came out of his first trial after recovering from an injury to his knee with flying colours, his kicking, running, and manoeuvring being as good as ever. When the trial was over, Mr. Allison, pleased with the show made by his International patient, expressed to Spencer how nervous he had felt lest the knee might again give way during the trial, as the ground was somewhat treacherous. Spencer had never given a thought to this himself: but on the occasion of a second trial, when the ground was perfectly dry and safe, his nervousness was so great that he was afraid to let himself go and moved about in the most gingerly fashion for a long time. One player's method of passing the time while confined to hospital was both novel and innocent. His amr>l<> leisure was completely devoted to a study of football jerseys, and he gathered together a unique and somewhat startling collection while thus laid up. The treatment under the Dowsing Radiant Heat system, it ought to be explained, causes no unpleasant sensation : in fact, when the curative effect is greatest there is a sense of rest and freedom from pain. In applying the heat in this manner the air cannot become charged with moisture, and a temperature of even 500 degrees can be borne by a patient without the least discomfort.