Electro-physiology and electro-therapeutics : showing the best methods for the medical uses of electricity / By Alfred C. Garratt.
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at the same time instituting a daily exercise in the practice of counting deliberately, and repeating or reading words of mono- syllables with commas between. Cramps. Cramp is truly a muscular affection, arising usually from undue fatigue, or even from causes remote in the system, as indigestible matters lodged in the alimentary canal can cause cramps in the legs. Hence the causes, in such cases, are to re- ceive our first attention. These may even be cholera morbus, or colica pictonum. These sudden and highly painful contrac- tions of a muscle or bundle of muscles are temporarily relieved by friction, and firm pressure over the spasmed muscle fibres, or by a ligature applied around the limb above the affected mus- cle. This may and does occur sometimes in the muscular struc- ture of the stomach. There may be a troublesome, nervous cough in one case, or sneezing in another, or yawning, or twitch- ing, or tremulous eye-winking. Now, all these arc but varieties of clonic spasms — an irregular contraction of certain muscles. Sometimes hickups set in after some severe accident, from the profound jar of the nerve centres, and continue for weeks, and yet the patient may recover under proper treatment. Place the positive electrode on the upper part of the spine, and with the labile negative, bathe the waist and all the lower thorax mus- cles with a smart current of electro-magnetism. If the cramp is in the muscles of a limb, first embrace the affected muscles between the electrodes, say for a minute or two, then remove one above the seat of spasm, using only a direct or down-run- ning current of considerable strength. Tetanus, when idiopathic, or continuing even as the sequel of a traumatic origin, provided the thorn, nail, or sliver is removed, or the included nerve is released from the accidental embrace of a ligature, may be sometimes successfully treated by Faradaic or Galvanic currents, carefully and continuously di- rected down the spine. Dubois Reymond, however, thinks that the current does not penetrate to the spinal cord, unless the