Push-Pull Lifesaving

Millions of Americans are due to learn a new method of artificial respiration. The Army, Navy and Air Force, the American Red Cross, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts and the A.M.A. have all agreed to abandon the "Schafer prone-pressure" method which has been in use for two generations. Instead, they will teach first-aid workers the "back-pressure, arm-lift" method.

There was nothing wrong with the Schafer method as far as it went. But a Danish instructor in physical fitness, Holger Nielsen, argued that its rhythmic pressure on the lower ribs of the back caused the lungs to take up only the same amount of air as a person inhales in normal breathing. Nielsen reasoned that if the victim's lungs could be made to take a deep breath, like a man inflating his chest before an open window, there would be a better chance of expelling water or gases from the lungs. Nielsen developed a method to do just that. The main rules:

1) Place the victim face down, with head on hands.

2) Kneel (on one or both knees) at the victim's head. With thumbs touching and fingers spread, press straight down on his back to empty the lungs. Release the pressure smoothly, rock back, and lift the victim's elbows. This expands the lungs and makes them draw air in. Repeat the cycle twelve times a minute.

3) If the victim begins to breathe on his own, adjust the push-pull rhythm to synchronize with his.

One of the toughest problems faced by researchers testing the Nielsen method was to find suitable victims. Volunteers holding their breath were not much good. Finally, it was decided to collapse ten volunteers for a while with a paralyzing shot of curare. The Schafer method brought seven subjects around, but failed in three. As these turned blue, the Nielsen method was started. It revived them all, and that settled the argument.

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