Rotational therapy as a cure for madness



One of the few controversial treatment that was used in the early 19th century to suppress the madness.
The idea belongs to Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles), who at the time was known as a talented doctor.
At the beginning of his medical career, Erasmus, using the latest achievements of medicine of the time, he cured a young man who was considered doomed. This event provided him a successful career, and for fifty years Erasmus Darwin was one of the best doctors in Central England. King George III invited him to become a royal physician, but Darwin declined. Erasmus Darwin was born on December 12, 1731 and lived in England for 18 April 1802.

Erasmus Darwin suggested that using vibration or rotation, you can try to cure madness. His idea was embodied in the life of Joseph Mason Cox at the beginning of the 19th century, creating a working model "Swing Cox." His book, which describes the construction and use of "Swing Cox" was printed in the three English editions of that time, and also appeared in the American and German press. As a machine that should be in every hospital for the treatment of lunacy and insanity.

The treatment itself was the fact that the patient was placed in a chair suspended from the ceiling and spun up to 100 rpm, and it lasted for about two minutes. A good result was considered if the patient urinated in his pants and began to vomit. At the discretion of the physician to set the time and speed of rotation.
Help or not help it - is unknown, but after that violent patients long time to recover, which was considered a good result.

Source: zwonok.net/index.php?newsid=5656

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