LECTURE I - THE PRINCIPLES OF MASSAGE

Abstract

Mechanical Principles of Massage, Kinetic, Dynamic, and Static—Pressure—Motion—Mass—Work and Energy—Potential Energy—Metabolism—Convertibility of Forces—Phenomena of Life—Transformation of Energy—Transference of Energy—Dissipation of Energy—Laws of Pressure—Nature of Pressure—Physiological Effects of Massage—Life the sum of Antagonistic Actions—Huxley on Living Matter—The Human Body an Organism—Derivation of Energy for the Animal World—The Effects of Massage as a Therapeutic Agent—Effects of Massage upon a Paralyzed Limb—Conversion of Potential into Kinetic Energy by Massage—Weir Mitchell—Massage Assimilative Processes—Cold and Heat in Nutrition—Body Temperature—Dr. McAlister on the Nature of Fever—Thermogenesis—Mechanism of Respiration—Stability of Temperature—Foster on Body Heat—Fick on Muscular Work—The Muscles as Furnaces of the Body—Dr. Meade Smith and Dr. Sukjanow on Muscular Fatigue—Dr. Latham on Metabolism in Gout, Rheumatism, and Diabetes—Sir Dyce Duckworth on Gout as a Neurosis—Action of Vaso-motor Nerves and Blood Vessels, in Nutrition, Assimilation, and Excretion—Dr. Latham on Imperfect Metabolism—Circulation of the Blood and Functional Activity—Physiological Processes subservient to Massage—High Tension, Low Tension, Variable Tension—Dr. Richardson on Animal or Vital Mechanics—On the Gaseous Constituents of the Blood in relation to Respiration—Views of Johannes Müller, Spallanzani, Levoisier, Lagrange, Sir Humphrey Davy, Liebig, Regnault, Fernet, Professor Stokes, Matteucci, Claude Bernard and Paul Bert—Zabludowski On the Effects of Massage on Healthy People—Schreiber On the Effects of Massage.