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RE-EDUCATION FOR PARA­
LYZED SOLDIERS
R E - E D U C A T I O N is a phase of
volunteer war work for paralyzed
soldiers that has been
undertaken by Doctor Goldwin
Howland and other practitioners
of the University of Toronto. Fifteen
soldiers have already been treated
by this method with success.
Among those treated by Dr. Howland
was one soldier injured last June. A
piece of steel helmet crushed the skull,
destroying that part of the brain which
controls the movements of the legs, and
causing paralysis.
Treatment was commenced in August.
At first only a slight movement of the
legs was possible. Then he learned to
twist his toes in bed. Later he learned
to creep behind a chair. Then he learned
to walk by pushing a chair. After three
months of continued treatment he was
restored to nearly normal.
Treatment consists of massage or
stroking and vibration. Massage is employed
to make the contracted muscles
flexible. For the same reason, the
hand is shaken or vibrated until there is
a loosening of the muscles. Movements
of the arm are produced passively. The
first two methods are employed to make
possible the third, which is that of trying
to get the patient to use the muscles in
simple activities.
Some knowledge of the muscles involved
and their functional relation to
the other parts of the body, and an ability
to stimulate the patient's interest in
his improvement are the requirements of
one giving treatment.
Re-education is the result of the pioneer
work of Doctor Shepherd Ivory
Franz, Scientific Director, Government
Hospital for the Insane. Observations
made upon animals agree with observations
made upon man with the exception
that paralysis is not permanent in animals.
These observations suggested to
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Doctor Franz the possibility that the
conclusions reached by the medical profession
were inaccurate and unscientific.
Tests made by him upon patients
afflicted with paralysis for periods of
twenty, ten and three years proved that
recovery was possible, and that not
enough attention had been given to socalled
chronic cases.
One of the cures made by Doctor
Franz which might be accounted almost
as remarkable as the healing of the man
lame from birth recorded in the Bible,
was that of a woman fifty-eight years
old, who had been paralyzed for a score
of years. At the time treatment was
commenced, the patient could not raise
her arm in any direction, neither could
she move her wrist nor use her fingers.
Massage of the muscles was employed
first. Then the hand was grasped and
shaken until there was a distinct loosening
of the muscles.
She was then given a ball to hold.
After repeated trials she was able to
grasp it, acquiring the use of her fingers.
After that she learned to use her thumb
and forefinger. She was given a needle
and thread to determine her ability to
sew. Her movements at first were
awkward and slow. The stitches were
large and uneven. During the first week
she averaged twenty-two stitches in five
minutes, but the fifth week she averaged
thirty-three stitches in five minutes, and
the stitches were short and even.
Shortly after she had learned to use
her hand she was given a fan. She
grasped it properly, but in her first
trials she could not make the necessary
combination of movements of arm and
hand. In a few days however she succeeded
so well that she was able to fan
herself with the so-called paralyzed arm
better than she could with her perfect
one.