The mechanico-therapeutic institution in Stockholm, established in 1865 / by Gustaf Zander.

  • Gustaf Zander
Date:
1876
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The mechanico-therapeutic institution in Stockholm, established in 1865 / by Gustaf Zander. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    1 45. Balancing of the trunk. 46. Expansion of the chest. lu all 46 dilferent movements, of which most may be modi- fied in various ways to suit diflere.ut purposes. The movements being performed with the aid of machines, which never tire and are not subject to illness, as is unfor- tunately the case with gymnasts, the Institution is able to receive a much larger number of patients than any gymnas- tic establishment could accommodate. It has thus popu- larized the science and placed its beneficial influences within the reach of even very moderate means. The Mechanico-Therapeutical Institution is open from the 1st of October to the 1st of June, 4^ hours daily for gentlemen, and 2-.3 hours for ladies. Every patient re- ceives a prescription in which the movements to be per- formed are enumei'ated, and the number of the graduated scale of the machine corresponding to the force or the need of the patient is fixed. 12 movements are generally per- formed daily; after 12 days all or a part of the movements are changed according to the nature of the case treated. Persons who attend the Institution merely for bodily exer- cise can attain a perfectly harmonious development of their muscular system. The success of Dr. Zander's invention is best demon- strated by the fact, that since the opening of this.Institu- tion the number of patients has steadily increased from 132, in 1865, to 920, in 1876. Of these latter more than 200 were ladies. The establishment is largely attended, not only by those who seek in gymnastics a cure for some particular disease, but also by those who want to find in it a preventive against the evils generated by sedentary life and office work, as well as by school boys and girls who have been considered too weak for taking part in the com- mon sciiool gynnuislics.
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