The effects of severe muscular exertion, sudden and prolonged, in young adolescents / by W. Collier.

  • William Francis Collier
Date:
[1904 or 5?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The effects of severe muscular exertion, sudden and prolonged, in young adolescents / by W. Collier. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    elasticity, became stretched and dilated. This change increased the capacity of the vessel and permitted a larger quantity of blood to be thrown into it at each contraction of the ventricle. In order to force it onwards the ventricle was compelled to beat with increased power. So little by little the distension was increased until the day arrived when incompetence was set up, either by stretching of the orifice from dilatation of the vessel, or from inability of the valves to support the column of blood above them. These changes, as Dr. Allbutt carefully pointed out, were very gradual in their progress, and did not as a rule induce the sufferers to seek medical aid until they had attained middle age. There is one troublesome symptom that I think is often associated with this form of physiological hypertrophy, and that is sleeplessness. I remember that when training for the University sports this troubled me very much, and in my fourth year I was obliged to give up training in consequence. Prophylaxis. It is easy to see how the dangers, as far as the heart and lungs are concerned, of severe muscular exertion, sudden and prolonged, in the case of young adolescents, may with a little care be avoided: (i) I think all boys before being allowed to compete in school sports, especially in running or rowing races or gymnastic exercises, should undergo medical inspection, and that the badly-developed, weakly, flabby-muscled boys should not be permitted to take part in these competitions, but they should most certainly be encouraged to go in for graduated exercises, as I believe with good medical supervision and a little encouragement many of these boys will grow into fairly broad-chested, muscularly developed, healthy men. (2) Boys who are obviously growing with exceptional rapidity as occasionally happens, should be advised for a time to avoid exercises requiring great muscular exertion. (3) On the other hand I should say that the healthy strong boys, who take part in all the school usual sports, football, paper-chases, or athletic sports, might well be examined once or twice a year to safeguard against overstrain, and here I might add one word, as to the examination of the heart. I believe it is impossible to form an accurate opinion as to the way the heart is doing its work without giving it a very definite amount of work to do. I in-
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