History of sports medicine - 1861-1865

1861

In French prisons, corporal punishment included prisoners walking on a treadmill for a whole day to grind grain.

1861

The open-circuit system for determining the CO₂ production developed by the German physiologist Carl von Voit (1831-1908) and the German chemist Max von Pettenkofer (1818-1901).

1861

Another respiration room developed by the German physiologist Carl von Voit (1831-1908) and the German chemist Max von Pettenkoffer (1818-1901), specifically for animal research.

1861

These early forms of isometric push and pull dynamometers were used by the American physician Jay Webber Seaver (1855-1915), who is considered one of the pioneers of anthropometry.

The American gymnastics teacher Edward Hitchcock (1828-1911) and the Irish-American educator Dudley Allen Sargent (1849-1924) who was an expert in anthropometry in Harvard, also used them very frequently.

1862

One of the earliest and most significant documents on medicine was discovered in 1862, known as the Edwin Smith (1822-1906) papyrus. This document is thought to have been created by Imhotep (2650-2600 BVC), a prominent Egyptian physician, astrologer, architect, and politician, and it specifically categorizes diseases and treatments. Many scholars recognize this document as the oldest surgical textbook, including descriptions of the reduction of a dislocated mandible, signs of spinal or vertebral injuries, description of torticollis, and the treatment of fractures such as clavicle fractures. The following is an excerpt from this ancient document:

"Instructions on a fracture in his upper arm ... Thou should spread out with his two shoulders in order to stretch apart his upper arm until that fracture falls into his place. You should make two splints of linen, and you should apply one of them on the inside of the arm and the other one on the other side."

1862

Max von Pettenkoffer (1818-1901), a chemist and hygienist from Bavaria, developed a respiration device, named after him.

The 12.7m³ large room was big enough for a stay of at least 24 hours. A pump continuously ventilated fresh air via a gas meter with a volume of 15 to 75 m³/hour. Continuously samples of the incoming and outgoing air were taken. Sulfuric acid absorbed the water vapor, barium hydroxide the carbon dioxide that was later titrated.

He published his findings in 'Ueber die Respiration' in 'Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie, Supplement 2: 1-52'. Pettenkofer feared that a mask or mouthpiece with respiratory valves could interfere with natural respiration and was obsessed with the idea that some bad smelling and possibly toxic, volatile substances would be released into the exhaled air and could accumulate in a closed system to the detriment of the subject. The costs of his room were borne by King Maximilian II of Bavaria (1811-1864).

1862

French Professor Jean Martin Charcot (1825-1893), the founder of neurology, was in 1862 appointed head of the 'Hospice de la Salpêtrière' in Paris. In twenty years he transformed 'le Versailles de la misère' into an international and modern hospital. In 1882 he was the first to start a chair in neurology and psychiatry and one of his most famous pupils was Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), who specialized by him from October 1885 to February 1886. Charcot also developed totally new therapies such as electrotherapy, hypnosis, exercise rehabilitation and hydrotherapy. For this he chose the village La Malou-les-Bains, which grew into a testing center for the treatment of neurological disorders and was one of the very first centers for rehabilitation. The center La Malou, which is the dialect for 'pain', was already known for the treatment of chronic myelitis.

1862

German physician Carl von Voit (1831-1908) also investigated human energy metabolism and he also received financial support from King Maximilian II of Bavaria (1811-1864) for the construction of a calorimeter.

The calorimeter consisted of a room for a single subject. In order to determine the air flow, it was equipped with an industrial gas meter and with smaller gas meters that constantly took samples of air to measure the carbon dioxide deposited by barium hydroxide. The unit was powered by a steam engine with pulleys and reciprocating pumps. Voit concluded that the mass and the capacity of the body cells determined the total amount of metabolism. The human need for proteins depends on the lean tissue mass and that on fats and carbohydrates of the mechanical work carried out, with which he expanded the observations of the French scientist Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794).

1863

In Prague, Czech art historian and sports manager Miroslav Tyrs (1832-1884) and Czech trader and sports officer Jindrich Fügner (1822-1865) founded Sokol, the first physical education organization in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Tyrs introduced new gymnastic exercises and terminology. De Sokol started a versatile program of physical, moral and intellectual training. It grew from 2,000 members in 1863 to more than a million members in the period between the two world wars. The Sokol movement gained enormous popularity in most Slavic countries and formed the basis for the development of scientific applications in sport in the 20th century, rather than merely considering it a leisure activity or entertainment activity.

1863

The painting 'Samson on the treadmill' from 1863 by the Danish painter Carl Bloch (1834-1890).

1863

French doctor Jacques Estradère (1833-1919) divided the massage into two different activities in his thesis 'Du Massage, son historique, ses manipulations, ses effects physiologiques et thérapeutiques' (About massage, its history, its manipulations, its physiological and therapeutic effects). The hygienic massage served to maintain or improve health in a healthy body, the therapeutic massage was reserved for the sick body that required the support and presence of a doctor.

Estradère was the first author in the medical world to present a hierarchical set of manual and instrumental manipulations that ultimately formed the massage.

1865

Edward Frankland (1825-1899), a London-based chemist, confirmed the conclusions of his brother in law, German physiologist Adolf Fick (1829-1901), and that of the German chemist Johannes Wislicenus (1835-1902). By measuring the urea and heat production during a complete oxidation of different types of food, Frankland proved that not the proteins but the carbohydrates and fats provided energy.

Similar results were reported by German chemist Moritz Traube (1826-1894), whose thesis from 1861 stated that not the muscle tissue provide the fuel for exercise and that muscle strength could not be achieved with urea production. The assertion of Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) that proteins served as the first source of muscle power was therefore silenced by the experiments of Smith, Fick and Wislicenus, Frankland and Traube.