Stretchers

“ Coarse, hobnailed boots stick out from the blankets, and sometimes the heaps, which are men, moan or are silent. On the floor lie piles of clothing, filthy, muddy, blood-soaked, torn or cut from the silent bodies on the beds. The stretcher bearers step over these piles of dirty clothing, or kick them aside, as they lift the shrinking bodies to the brown stretchers, and carry them across, one by one, to the operating room. ”

“ They may be said to be current, like money, and whenever one organization turns over a grave case to the succeeding organization, the stretcher goes with the case, and an empty one is received in return. The number at any one point is thus maintained at a constant figure, and there is a general tendency for battered and infected stretchers to gravitate toward the south of France, and for new stretchers to gravitate toward the front. ”

“ In using the board stretchers the fur should always be on the inside, and when the hoop or bow is used it should be placed in such a position, that the air may circulate freely on both sides of the skin, which should not be removed until thoroughly dry. ”

“ Chair-back crests and the legs of most furniture were ornamented with a carved shell which reached England from Italy by way of Holland. High curved stretchers, connecting front and back legs only and tied at the middle by a single cross stretcher, were in general use but sometimes omitted. ”

“ The cutting and arrangement of the stretchers and the holes for the same require some thought. Each stretcher lies behind its wing, passes in front of the rod nearest to it, and behind that at the corner diagonally opposite. (See Fig. 119.) The slits through which it is thrust should be strengthened with patches to prevent ripping of the material.
Two persons should hold a box out as squarely as possible while a stretcher is measured. Cut a nick 3/8 inch deep in one end of the stretcher, and pass the end through the fabric slits to the ring not on the wing. ”

“ It was determined that these 150 men should be carried down to Frere on stretchers and by hand. And this was done, and well done, by the much-ridiculed corps of "body-snatchers."
It was no light undertaking, for the distance was twenty-five miles, and the road was dusty and not of the best. Every step had to be tramped under a glaring sun, and the heat of that day was great. Allowing twelve men to a stretcher, 1,800 men would be required. This number was forthcoming at sunrise, and they accomplished the march in the day, reaching Frere at sundown. ”

“ The stretchers should be set horizontally by nailing a strip of wood, say 1 × 1Â1⁄2 × 12 inches, with a piece at each end to form a space between it and the wall, or place of location in line with the edge of the shaft, as in Fig. 48. The top of this stretcher should [Pg 50] be low enough to clear the largest pulley, and high enough to clear the hat of your tallest man. You would perhaps find it convenient to go between the spokes of a large pulley. ”

“ A stretcher is, perhaps, not exactly a bed of roses for a wounded man, but when one considers what pain is involved in moving a man who is badly wounded, there is obviously a great advantage in placing him on a stretcher once for all on the battle-field, and never moving him again until he can be actually placed in bed in a hospital. ”

“ By the word stretchings I mean the stretching of his body and limbs by a slow and gentle convulsion of the extensor muscles; for in all the attacks I never observed the flexores any way affected. — His feelings were frequently so odd that, he said, he could not describe them. He often felt as if his left side, from his head to his waste was empty, and that millions of small bodies were drove up and down with great velocity: which he likened to the shaking of peas in a bladder. ”

“ The flexor muscles on account of the position in sitting and because of a lack of expansive activity, often become too short. They can be extended only by activity of the extensor muscles. The stretch is the special and instinctive action of the extensor muscles in response to a distinctive demand for freedom of the organs, or harmony of the whole myological mechanism. It is also, as has been said, closely connected with the circulation, and the activity of the vital organs.
There is no more important exercise than stretching. Its neglect is one of the strange things in training. ”

“ In lifting the patient on the stretcher it should be laid with its foot to his head, so that both are in the same straight line; then one or two persons should stand on each side of him, and raise him from the ground, slip him on the stretcher ”

“ When you have in this manner ascertained the utmost distance to which you can stretch and from which you can recover, without scraping the hands or altering the position of the feet, you just stretch as far forward as you possibly can end, while supporting the body with one hand, chalk a line on the floor with the other. ”

“ As the stretcher approached the foot of the stair two of our number stepped forth from the rank, each taking a handle from a Bluebottle; the stretcher thus proceeded on its course up the stair carried by four men, one on each handle—two Bluebottles and two R.A.M.C.'s.
That flight of iron stairs from the platform to the road seemed no very arduous ordeal for the first half-dozen journeys. There was a knack about keeping the stretcher horizontal: the front bearers must hold their handles as low as possible; the rear bearers must hoist their handles shoulder-high. ”

“ As to the use of the stretcher-straps. Many coaches imagine that when they have said, "Do not pull yourself forward by your toes against the straps," they have exhausted all that is to be said on the matter. ”

“ Then point the toes down and stretch upper leg muscles; relax; then stretch under leg muscles by stretching heel out. The patient will feel the exercise as far as the shoulders, and should be careful not to lift the body from the floor at first. When patient can hold stretching exercise for a minute then lift first the right, then the left leg, and take same exercise until the person can give a quick little kick for, say, twelve times, as the leg is straightened. ”

“ Since nature has provided the stretch seemingly as the antidote for abnormal position, and especially abnormal position during sleep, in the programme of exercises it would seem most necessary to centre around some careful and scientific use of stretches. ”

“ Stretching of the muscles antagonistic to the extensors—namely, of the flexor muscles—reduces the jerk by inhibiting the extensor spinal nerve cells through the nervous impulses generated by the tense flexor muscles. Hence a favourable posture of the limb for eliciting the jerk is one ensuring relaxation of the hamstring muscles, as when the leg has been crossed upon the other. ”

“ If at any time you find yourself slumping forward or slouching in your seat, it is good to stretch your arms high above the head, or to expand the chest and draw your shoulders backward in the position commonly assumed when yawning and stretching. Either of these stretching movements will give you an erect position, and you can maintain this thereafter by keeping the head in the right position-chin inward, downward and backward. These stretching movements will be equally effective for improving the carriage when standing. ”

“ In cording the neck, do not stretch it; hold the cord tight. The waist must, on the contrary, be pulled well when the cord is put on, or it will never fit; it requires much stretching. The fit of the body often depends on the finishing. ”

“ Supposing that, somehow, the first operation had been the cause of the cure, we repaired to the house as requested, and, after Dr. Peaslee had etherized her, I operated by stretching: the contracted muscles. I found the shoulder in much the same plight as the other had been three years before, though the muscles were not quite so rigid, and I could overcome them without much difficulty. ”

“ I thought that if I went through a course of exercises stretching my ligaments and tendons it would also conduce to health and strength. Growing tall ought to be healthy, all right, I thought. So I got the apparatus—a fiendish-looking thing, composed of ropes, straps, buckles, and pulleys—and I set it up in an unused shed. I had taken exercises with it a few days and liked it first-rate. One evening, about dusk, I went out to take my usual “turn” and had just put on a head-gear suspended from a rope. This by a sort of hanging act was to develop and elongate the muscles of the neck. ”

“ So a method that straightens knees, hips, spine, and shoulders, or combats the school-desk attitude, is a most salutary contribution to a great and growing need. In the very act of stretching, and perhaps yawning, for which much is to be said, nature itself suggests such correctives and preventives. ”

“ Hind legs lengthened, joints reversed themselves, and bare knees bent as human feet dragged themselves through fragments of brown leaves over the ground and a human thigh gave a final contraction, stilled, and then one leg fell out straight again. ”

“ Where the leg, for instance, has been lost, they feel as if the foot was present, but as though the leg were shortened. If the thigh has been taken off, there seems to them to be a foot at the knee; if the arm, a hand seems to be at the elbow, or attached to the stump itself. ”

“ It has long been known that a contracted muscle can be stretched to a given extent by a smaller weight than is required to stretch it when it is at rest and not contracted. This has led physiologists to say that by contraction the elasticity of the muscle is diminished in amount while it is still perfect; that is to say, a contracted muscle is easily stretched, and when the stretching force is removed, it returns at once to its former length. ”

“ The legs, especially the thighs, are long. The foot is long and strong, and rests its lower surface, not merely the outer margin as in apes, on the ground. The elastic arch of the instep must be excepted in the above description, and adds lightness and swiftness to his otherwise slow gait. The great toe is short and generally [93] not opposable. The muscles of the leg are heavy and the knee-joint has a very broad articulating surface. But the great result of man's erect posture is that the hand is set free from the work of locomotion, and has become a delicate tactile and tool-using organ. ”

“ When the position of the bones is altered as I have shown it to be by high heels, the action of the tendons and muscles in connection with these bones is also changed, so that those accustomed to wear high heels feel discomfort and sometimes even severe pain if they have to walk barefoot or with low heels; for the muscles connected with the sole which form the Achilles tendon suffer under the unaccustomed stretching. ”

“ Science has carefully explained the stretch, but men seem to refuse to take the lesson. The [Pg 21] stretch extends the body so that the veins, where congestion is most liable to take place and where pressure of blood is weakest, are so elongated that the blood flows more easily from the arteries, where the pressure is strongest, through the veins back to the heart and circulation is equalized and stimulated. ”

“ He lifts us to a sitting posture, places himself behind us, and folds his arms around our body, alternately tightening and relaxing his clasp, as if to test the elasticity of the ribs.Then seizing one arm, he draws it across the opposite shoulder, until the jot cracks like a percussion-cap. ”

“ In applying extension to the thigh, for example, the bands should be fastened at the ankle and above the knee, these stretching in the same direction, another band to be passed by the loins, and around the armpits, and by the perineum and thigh, one end passing up the breast and the other along the back, these all stretching in the same direction and being fastened either to a piece of wood resembling a pestle or to an axle. ”

“ We cannot attempt to give exercises in stretching, as the variety open to the student is so great that he should not require to have illustrations given him. Just let him give way to the mental idea of a good, restful stretch, and Nature will tell him what to do. ”

“ Also, the sleeve-holes are so small and tight as to push up the shoulders. Then the hips are pressed downward far below their proper place, and the legs are consequently in danger of becoming short and bandy. Is it possible this vile fashion can continue much longer!—and are “the rising generation” really to grow up with high shoulders, round backs, flat chests, bodies that seem longer than their legs, and hips almost where their knees ought to be. ”

“ Sometime, perhaps in the small hours of the morning, the stretcher-bearers, arrive—the stretcher-bearers who all down the lines of communication are forever carrying others towards blessedness and never going themselves. ”

“ I believe that a large number of the cases of curvature of the spine met with in surgical practice, generally in girls between the ages of twelve and sixteen, result directly or indirectly from the weight and improper pressure of clothes, a potent agent in causing the deformity being the wearing of high-heeled boots, which throw the body forward in walking. Tight, stiff stays are responsible for a great deal of harm, and I am afraid that horrible process called tight-lacing begins but too frequently earlier than is generally suspected. ”

“ DOWN the corridor, walking carefully, came four hospital attendants, holding the stretcher resting on two large wheels, rolling noiselessly. The operation was over. On the stretcher lay a young woman, unconscious. ”

“ As far as the upper extremities are concerned, the only muscles called into activity are the flexors of the fingers; those of the arm and shoulder are simply put on the stretch, an operation which, without corresponding contraction, weakens rather than strengthens muscular fibre. ”