1961 Volume 25 Issue 4 Pages 331-357
Of the effects of gradually warming partial bathing apparatus by SUGIYAMA on the function of the circulation system, the author examined its effects on the blood pressure, digital plethysmography and circulation time and reached the following conclusion:
1) Gradually warming partial bathing apparatus by SUGIYAMA certainly has good effects on the blood pressure, lowering the systolic and the diastolic pressure without showing the individually different balneal reaction observable in hot-spring bathing, such as the initial rise in the blood pressure often observable during and immediately after the whole-body bathing.
2) The abrupt changes in the blood pressure as seen in high-temperature whole-body bathing are not observable in bathing with this apparatus, and the pressure gradually decreases for a long time.
3) The higher the blood pressure is, the greater the extent to which it falls and the longer the duration in which it falls.
4) Partial bathing by means of this apparatus tends to normalize the blood pressure, acting to bring down the pressure in the case of hypertension and to raise it in the case of hypotension.
5) By means of this apparatus the blood pressure tends to decrease comparatively rapidly until two weeks after the initiation of the treatment. It is still effective two and four weeks after it.
6) Complaints due to hypertension and cerebral arteriosclerosis will disappear or be alleviated with the initiation of treatment with this apparatus.
7) An observation of the digital plethysmography reveals that gradually warming partial bathing will increase the circulation of blood in the peripheral blood vessels by expanding them and loosening tension of them. After bathing an increase in catacrotic character of pulse wave is observable, and a change from anacrot observed before bathing into catacrot after bathing was seen in the most of hypertension cases.
8) Gradually warming partial bathing generally shortens the circulation time, but it shortens the circulation time to less degree in the medium and advanced cases of hypertension and in the case of hypotension, showing little effect on the circulation system.
9) Compared with the four-limb gradually warming bathing, the two lower-limb bathing is seen to have more mild effect on the circulation function, showing that it is sufficiently provided with synesthesia blood circulation reaction. Its action being alleviating, its application in the form of siutable partial bathing according to the severity of the circulatory disfunction.
10) Gradually warming partial bathing is considered to have the advantages of insensitive, luke-warm and high temperature bathings such as mild penetrating and selective characters.
In summary, an inference can be made from the above description that the gradually warming partial bathing is most suitable for therapy and prevention of hypertension, arteriosclerosis and impediments in the peripheral blood circulation.
