Vibratory Medicine and Therapeutic Suspension Techniques

Although the framework of neurological nosography was established during the second half of the nineteenth century, with Jean-Martin Charcot and his Salpêtrière School playing a major role, therapies for the recently identified diseases remained relatively ineffective. Since many Parkinson’s patients reported an improvement in their condition after being violently shaken during travel in mail carriages, Charcot recycled an old treatment method based on a vibratory armchair, assigning the preliminary study to Gilles de la Tourette, who tried to extend the technique to other pathologies by using a vibratory helmet. Another technique recommended by Charcot for treating tabes patients was “suspension,” thought to elongate the spinal cord. The related therapeutic tests in France and Europe are discussed in detail. Gilles de la Tourette made significant use of suspension at the time. The author compares his reports with the scientific challenges to his techniques and examines the resulting discussions.