"HUMAN REPAIR SHOP" HAS "MENDED" MANY STUDENTS

The "Human Repair Shop" is the name that has been applied to that bureau of the department of Physical Education under the direction of Mr. Fradd. The regulations governing freshman physical training permit no man to be excused because of physical disability. "The layman's idea that the gymnasium is no place for the physically unfit is absolutely wrong" said Mr. Fradd. "It is just the place where he should go. Much of his shyness comes from his hesitation to exhibit his infirmity, and the impression that there is nothing he can do."

"In the past few years there have been innumerable instances where men with 'heart' cases have applied for treatment, and the exercise we prescribed has been of great help. One doctor thought we were killing his patient, but his condition became better than ever before. Of the four cases under treatment now, there has been a marked improvement in two of them.

"A man with one leg wanted to row," he continued, "so we sent him to Weld boathouse, fitted up a special shell for him, weighted it accurately, and during the entire season the man took his exercise that way. There have been many cases of infantile paralysis where men have been greatly benefited by treatment. In one instance a young man who could hardly keep his feet if he was even slightly pushed, has taken up boxing under Coach Shevlin, and has become so proficient that he is entered for the University tournament in the near future. Another man with one leg learned to swim in a single lesson. These are but a few of a series of results attained from a prescribed set of exercises."

Neudorf Does Good Work

The recently established department of Physio-Therapy also comes under the direction of Mr. Fradd. This department takes care of all kinds of injuries from sprained ankles, synovitus, back strains, post-operative treatment of broken bones or appendicitis to the therapeutic means of dry or moist heat and massage, and the entire time of one instructor, Mr. Hans Neudorf, is required for the 15 to 25 men who daily come to him for treatment.

"There has also been some interesting work done by this department," said Mr. Fradd. "Several years ago we had a case of a young man who woke up one morning and found the whole side of his face paralyzed, and doctors were unable to assign any particular cause for it. In six weeks under Mr. Neudorf the action of the facial muscles was entirely restored. Another man who had been fencing with his room-mate was pierced through the eye by the point of a foil, and although the sight was not impaired, his entire left side was paralyzed. Leaving college for the year, he placed himself in charge of Mr. Neudorf when he returned the following September, and finally succeeded in having his arm and leg function, although he walked with a very slight limp."

"There is some kind of exercise for every man in college," Mr. Fradd concludes. "These results are not at all remarkable, but just the product of application to meet individual needs. We are only skimming the surface of the work we hope to accomplish in the future."