The important things to be recognized in the treatment of these cases
are, first, that rest in proper proportion allows of the patients doing
an amount of exertion which, ungoverned, or performed in wrong ways
would harm them; secondly, that full feeding is of value, because these
disorders are mostly of the character of degenerations and involve
failure of nutrition in various directions; and, lastly, that the
exactness of routine is of the highest moral and mental as well as
physical importance.
Paralysis agitans needs scarcely more than to be mentioned as amenable
to the same methods, with small differences in the application of
details. Body movements to counteract the tendency to rigidity in the
flexor groups of spinal muscles will be especially useful, as the
stiffness of these is one of the causes of displacement forward of the
centre of gravity, a displacement which results in the festination
symptom usually seen in such cases. Prescriptions of special exercises
for the muscle-masses particularly involved in each instance must be
given, remembering that contraction of the affected muscles will to a
certain degree overcome their rigidity even at first, and to a still
greater extent as the patient reacquires voluntary control.
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