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Backache Cured by Central Fixation
By Bessie T. Brown
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The editor is much pleased to be able to publish Mrs. Brown's report
of the simultaneous relief of her astigmatism and the backache from
which she had suffered so long. It was from her that he learned the
value of central fixation in relieving pain in parts of the body other
than the head and eyes, and he takes great pleasure in giving her
credit for the discovery.
____
It is about six, or perhaps seven years ago that I first consulted Dr.
Bates concerning my eyes. I had been wearing glasses to correct
astigmatism for five years. During those years of "correction" my eyes
seldom gave me a comfortable day. I spared them in every way, using
them as little as possible. My sight was not noticeably impaired, but
I will cite a few of the many discomforts from which I suffered.
A smarting sensation in the eyes was nearly always present; also a
general lassitude and a dull ache in the back. The last mentioned was
never attributed to eyestrain, but to many other causes, and was
treated accordingly by a physician; but without results. I was obliged
to retire early every night in order to forget my pains in sleep, only
to wake in the morning with eyes which felt as though a cinder from
every chimney in New York City had dropped into them. This was because
we strain our eyes during our sleep as well as during waking hours. To
watch a stage or moving picture performance was torture; and when
driving, or riding on railroad trains, I would keep my eyes closed,
only taking occasional peeps at the passing landscape. I could not
endure the glare of the sunlight on the beach or pavements, and
artificial lights on the streets, in the shops or theatre, were an
abomination.
My first glasses were prescribed by an optometrist, and I received no
relief while wearing them. Friends advised me to consult an eye
specialist of high standing in New York. I did so. He said after
examination that he was not surprised that I had received no benefit
from the glasses which I was wearing, and proceeded to fit me with
what he considered to be the correct lenses. I was supremely happy for
a few days, in the anticipation of enjoying perfect comfort as soon as
I should become accustomed to the new lenses.
But alas! my happiness was short-lived. The glasses prescribed by the
eminent physician gave no more satisfaction than those from the
optometrist.
I returned to see the doctor after a few weeks, and complained that
his glasses had not helped me. He made another examination and said
that he could make a slight change in the lenses, but it would not be
worth while to do so. He also said that my eyes were not working
together properly, but this condition would improve with my general
health. However my health did not improve under his treatment; I felt
that I was doomed to a life of suffering, and tried to become
reconciled to my fate.
Hope was revived a few months later when I heard of Dr. Bates and his
cure of eyestrain without glasses. Dr. Bates took possession of my
glasses upon my first visit to him, and I have not worn them since.
He told me to do, or attempt to do, the most amazing things. Looking
at the sun was one treatment. I protested, saying that even the
reflected sunlight was intolerable; but Dr. Bates insisted, and I
found that I could look at a point near the sun with one eye, covering
the other with my hand, then alternating. After practicing this for
several days, I was able to look directly at the sun with both eyes
wide open. The glare of sunlight on the ground ceased to worry me and
became as delightful as the pale moonlight. When the sun failed to
shine, or was not convenient, I practiced looking at a large
incandescent electric light, and very soon the artificial lights
troubled me no more than the stars which twinkle in the heavens at
night; and that reminds me that Dr. Bates told me that the apparent
twinkle of the stars is only in the eye of the beholder.
After a few weeks of treatment I forgot to spare my eyes, as had been
my habit for years. I could read or sew until midnight if I wished,
and began to go out evenings and enjoy life like a normal human being.
As I write to-night, the clock is striking eleven; and my eyes are
feeling fine and dandy, although I have been using them constantly all
day sewing and embroidering.
My animation and efficiency have greatly increased. Friends have
remarked that I am a new woman, and continue to congratulate me upon
my youthful appearance. An acquaintance of mine whom I had not met
since I stopped wearing glasses failed to recognize me a few days ago
at the house of a mutual friend. "Why," she exclaimed, "the Mrs. Brown
whom I used to know was an extremely pale and worn-looking creature."
Through relaxation the expression of eyes and face have become greatly
changed.
I had been under treatment with Dr. Bates about three months when
suddenly one day I noticed that my old and constant companion the
backache was no longer with me, and it has never returned.
At the present time when I feel the strain coming into my eyes I rest
them by palming and remembering or recalling different familiar objects
—the colors of my frocks, recalled one at a time, or the forms and
shapes of pieces of china which are in constant use in my home, or the
color of the eyes of members of the family. It seems marvellous to be
able to go about in the shops for a good part of the day and then keep
my eyes open and enjoy to the fullest extent a performance or social
affair in the evening. Also what a delight to ride through the country
and feast my eyes with comfort upon the beauty of the passing
landscape!
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Snellen Test Cards
There should be a Snellen test card in every family and in every
school classroom. When properly used it always improves the sight even
when it is already normal. Children or adults with errors of
refraction, if they have never worn glasses, are cured simply by
reading every day the smallest letters they can see at a distance of
ten, fifteen, or twenty feet.
For Sale By
The Central Fixation Publishing Company
Paper—50 Cents
Cardboard (folding)—75 Cents
Delivered
A limited number of reprints of articles by Dr. Bates published in
other medical journals also for sale. Send for list. Also back numbers
of "Better Eyesight". First twelve numbers, $3.00; bound in cloth,
$1.25 extra; single copies, 30 cents.
____
Pain Number
Better Eyesight
A monthly magazine devoted to the prevention and cure of imperfect
sight without glasses
Copyright, 1921, by the Central Fixation Publishing Company
Editor—W. H. Bates, M.D.
Publisher—Central Fixation Publishing Co.
$2.00 per year, 20 cents per copy
300 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y.
Vol. IV - February 1921 - No. 2
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