First Book in Physiology and Hygiene by J. H. Kellogg (books to read as a couple .TXT) 📖
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DESK TOO HIGH.
6. Standing on one foot, sitting bent forward when reading or at work, sleeping with the head raised high upon a thick pillow or bolster, are ways in which young persons often grow out of shape.
SEAT TOO HIGH.
7. The Clothing.—Wearing the clothing tight about the waist often produces serious deformities of the bones of the trunk, and makes the chest so small that the lungs have not room to act properly. Tight or high-heeled shoes also often deform and injure the feet and make the gait stiff and awkward.
8. Broken Bones.—By rough play or by accident the bones may be broken in two just as you might break a stick. If the broken parts are placed right, Nature will cement them together and make the bone strong again; but sometimes the bones do not unite, and sometimes they grow together out of proper shape, so that permanent injury is done.
9. Sprains.—In a similar manner the ligaments which hold the bones together, in a joint, are sometimes torn or over-stretched. Such an accident is called a sprain. A sprain is a very painful accident, and a joint injured in this way needs to rest quite a long time so that the torn ligaments may grow together.
10. Bones out of Joint.—Sometimes the ligaments are torn so badly that the ends of the bones are displaced, and then we say they are put out of joint. This is a very bad accident indeed, but it often happens to boys while wrestling or playing at other rough games.
11. Children sometimes have a trick of pulling the fingers to cause the knuckles to "crack." This is a very foolish and harmful practice. It weakens the joints and causes them to grow large and unsightly.
12. When a man uses alcohol and tobacco, their effects upon the bones are not so apparent as are the effects upon the blood, the nerves, and other organs; but when the poisonous drugs are used by a growing boy, their damaging influence is very plainly seen. A boy who smokes cigars or cigarettes, or who uses strong alcoholic liquors, is likely to be so stunted that even his bones will not grow of a proper length and he will become dwarfed or deformed.
SUMMARY.1. To keep the bones healthy they must have plenty of healthful food.
2. The whole-grain preparations furnish the best food for the bones.
3. Walking at too early an age often makes the legs crooked.
4. Hard work at too early an age stunts the growth.
5. Bad positions and tight or poorly-fitting clothing are common causes of flat chests, round shoulders, and other deformities.
6. Tight or high-heeled shoes deform the feet and make the gait awkward.
7. The bones may be easily broken or put out of joint, or the ligaments may be torn by rough play.
8. Alcohol prevents healthy growth.
CHAPTER XX. THE MUSCLES AND HOW WE USE THEM.1. The Muscles.—Where do people obtain the beefsteak and the mutton-chops which they eat for breakfast? From the butcher, you will say; and the butcher gets them from the sheep and cattle which he kills. If you will clasp your arm you will notice that the bones are covered by a soft substance, the flesh. When the skin of an animal has been taken off, we can see that some of the flesh is white or yellow and some of it is red. The white or yellow flesh is fat. The red flesh is lean meat, and it is composed of muscles.
2. The Number of Muscles.—We have about five hundred different muscles in the body. They are arranged in such a way as to cover the bones and make the body round and beautiful. They are of different forms and sizes.
3. With a very few exceptions the muscles are arranged in pairs; that is, we have two alike of each form and size, one for each side of the body.
4. How a Muscle is Formed.—If you will examine a piece of corned or salted beef which has been well boiled, you will notice that it seems to be made up of bundles of small fibres or threads of flesh. With a little care you can pick one of the small fibres into fine threads. Now, if you look at one of these under a microscope you find that it is made of still finer fibres, which are much smaller than the threads of a spider's web. One of these smallest threads is called a muscular fibre. Many thousands of muscular fibres are required to make a muscle.
MUSCULAR
FIBRES.
5. Most of the muscles are made fast to the bones. Generally, one end is attached to one bone, and the other to another bone. Sometimes one end is made fast to a bone and the other to the skin or to other muscles.
6. The Tendons.—Many of the muscles are not joined to the bones directly, but are made fast to them by means of firm cords called tendons. If you will place the thumb of your left hand upon the wrist of the right hand, and then work the fingers of the right hand, you may feel these cords moving underneath the skin.
7. What the Muscles Do.—With the left hand grasp the right arm just in front of the elbow. Now shut the right hand tightly. Now open it. Repeat several times. The left hand feels something moving in the flesh. The motion is caused by the working of the muscles, which shorten and harden when they act.
8. All the movements of the body are made by means of muscles. When we move our hands, even when we close the mouth or the eyes, or make a wry face, we use the muscles. We could not speak, laugh, sing, or breathe without muscles.
9. Self-acting Muscles.—Did you ever have a fit of sneezing or hiccoughing? If you ever did, very likely you tried hard to stop but could not. Do you know why one cannot always stop sneezing or hiccoughing when he desires to do so? It is because there are certain muscles in the body which do not act simply when we wish them to act, but when it is necessary that they should. The muscles which act when we sneeze or hiccough are of this kind. The arm and the hand do not act unless we wish them to do so. Suppose it were the same with the heart. We should have to stay awake all the while to keep it going, because it would not act when we were asleep. The same is true of our breathing. We breathe when we are asleep as well as when we are awake, because the breathing muscles work even when we do not think about them.
10. The stomach, the intestines, the blood-vessels, and many other organs within the body have this kind of muscles. The work of these self-acting muscles is very wonderful indeed. Without it we could not live a moment. This knowledge should lead us to consider how dependent we are, each moment of our lives, upon the delicate machinery by which the most important work of our bodies is performed, and how particular we should be to keep it in good order by taking proper care of ourselves.
SUMMARY.1. The flesh, or lean meat, is composed of muscles.
2. There are five hundred muscles in the body.
3. Muscles are composed of many small threads called muscular fibres.
4. Many of the muscles are joined to the bones by strong white cords called tendons.
5. Muscular fibres can contract so as to lessen their length. It is in this way that the muscles perform their work.
6. All bodily motions are due to the action of the muscles.
7. Most of the muscles act only when we wish them to do so. Some muscles, however, act when it is necessary for them to do so, whether we will that they should act or not, and when we are asleep as well as when we are awake.
CHAPTER XXI. HOW TO KEEP THE MUSCLES HEALTHY.1. How to Make the Muscles Strong.—With which hand can you lift the more? with the right hand or with the left? Why do you think you can lift more with the right hand than with the left? A blacksmith swings a heavy hammer with his right arm, and that arm becomes very large and strong. If we wish our muscles to grow large and strong, so that our bodies will be healthy and vigorous, we must take plenty of exercise.
2. Effects of Idleness.—If a boy should carry one hand in his pocket all the time, and use only the other hand and arm, the idle arm would become small and weak, while the other would grow large and strong. Any part of the body which is not used will after a time become weak. Little boys and girls who do not take plenty of exercise are likely to be pale and puny. It is important that we should take the proper amount of exercise every day, just as we take our food and drink every day.
3. Healthful Exercise.—Some kinds of play, and almost all kinds of work which children have to do, are good ways of taking exercise. A very good kind of exercise for little boys and girls is that found in running errands or doing chores about the house.
4. Food and Strength.—A great part of our food goes to nourish the muscles. Some foods make us strong, while others do not. Plain foods, such as bread, meat, potatoes, and milk, are good for the muscles; but cakes and pies, and things which are not food, such as mustard, pepper, and spices, do not give us strength, and are likely to do us harm.
5. Over-Exertion.—We ought not to exert ourselves too much in lifting heavy weights, or trying to do things which are too hard for us. Sometimes the muscles are permanently injured in this way.
6. The Clothing.—We ought not to wear our clothing so tight as to press hard upon any part of the body. If we do, it will cause the muscles of that part to become weak. If the clothing is worn tight about the waist, great mischief is often done. The lungs cannot expand properly, the stomach and liver are pressed out of shape, and the internal organs are crowded out of their proper places.
7. Tight Shoes.—People are often made very lame from wearing tight shoes. Their muscles cannot act properly, and their feet grow out of shape.
FOOT OF CHINESE WOMAN.
8. In China, it is fashionable for rich ladies to have small feet, and they tie them up in cloths so that they cannot grow. The foot is squeezed out of shape. Here is a picture of a foot which has been treated in this way. It does not look much like a human foot, does it? A woman who has such feet finds it so difficult to walk that she has to be carried about much of the time. Do you not think it is very wrong and foolish to treat the feet so badly? You will say, "Yes;" but the Chinese woman thinks it is a great deal worse to lace the clothing tight about the body so as to make the waist small.
9. Effects of Alcohol upon the Muscles.—When an intemperate man takes a glass of strong drink, it makes him feel strong; but when he tries to lift, or to do any kind of hard work, he cannot lift so much nor work so hard as he could have done without the liquor. This is because
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