Repeated application of stimulus induces the state of adaptation, both specific and non-specific to that particular stimulus. Non-specific adaptation implies an increased ability of the body to maintain homeostasis in stress conditions irrespective of stresses, which has been known as the so-called cross adaptation. Balneotherapy is considered to be the non-specific stimulation- or adaptation-therapy, utilizing several environmental stimulus including hotspring bathing, climatic change and physical exercise. Purpose of the therapy is to recover and increase patient's tolerance for stressors in daily life.
We have studied physical exercise training to demonstrate its beneficial effects in patients undergoing major surgical procedures. More than 200 patients, 90% of them were over 60 year of age, were subjected to the study.
Preoperatively, physical fitness of the patients was estimated by test exercise using the principle of Harvard step test. Patients with poor physical fitness were subjected to preoperative exercise training consisted of ergometer pedalling or out-door walking. Physical fitness was significantly improved in 90% of the exercised patients. No undesirable side effect of the exercise training was noted.
The results suggestive of clinical significance of the exercise training were as follows:
I. Operative risk of the patients with pre-existing cardiac abnormalities seemed to be detectable by the exercise test and could be improved by the exercise training.
2. Lowered pulmonary functions due to sedentariness in elderly patients were improved after the training. The training was also effective in increasing work capacity of the patients whose performance had been thought to be limited by pulmonary diseases.
The incidence of postperative pulmonary complications was tended to be reduced by the pre-operative exercise training.
3. Exercise training in the patients with hepatic cirrhosis improved their physical fitness and subjective well-being without showing any adverse effects on liver function tests. Diabetes associated with hepatic cirrhosis was significantly improved by of training short period in most of the patients studied.
These results may indicate the significance of the adaptation therapy in improving the quality of life of the patients with incurable chronic disabling diseases.

Effects of bathing in the thermal spring waters were investigated on healing of primarily closed wound. The simple thermal spring was employed in whole experimental and clinical observations.
In rats, tensile strength of sutured wounds were acceralated to some extent by bathing in the thermal spring waters. Moderately irritating effect of the spring waters, which results in a slightly elevated histamine formation and a capillary dilatation in the skin, was demonstrated as a possible mechanism.
Chemical irritants, when allpied to the experimental wound, delayed the gain of tensile strength. The hindrance thus produced was counteracted by bathing the rats in the thermal spring water.
Wound healing was delayed in the rats whose movements were restricted afer wound infliction, possibly due to the excessive adrenal irritation. Restoration of healing wound was observed when these restricted rats were subjected to the thermal bathing, 15 minuits, daily.
All these evidences showed that the thermal spring bathing be beneficial for healing of primarily closed wound.
Hence, clinical observations were undertaken on the selected group of 27 surgical patients including 15 gastrectomy cases. They were allowed to start full bathing on the 4th postoperative day. No attempt was made to keep water off from the operative wounds.
Respiration of the patients were acceralated as well as the circulatory functions, resulting in an elevated actual pH and a lowered pCO₂. Expectoration of sputum was stimulated.
There were evidences indicating the adrenal cortical stimulation induced by the first postoperative bathing. From the viewpoint of Na/K ratio in urine, however, recovery from the postoperative catabolism was seemed rather promoted.
No adverse effect was found both in wound healing and in general convalescence. Remarkable improvement was observed in the patient's psychic states.
These findings may suggest the acceralating effect of early postoperative bathing on wound healing.

Male rats of 80 weeks of age were divided into 2 groups, sedentary group (Group I, n-7) and exercise-trained group (Group II, n=8) . Rats in Group II were conditioned by a 4-weeks treadmill running program. These two groups and another group of male sedentary rats of 20 weeks of age (Group III, n-9) were all subjected to a Wiggers type hemorrhagic shock (mean arterial pressure of 30 torr. for 60 min.) . Pulse rate and pulse pressure during the shock experiment, acid-base balance indices and blood gas before and after the shock period, and survival rate within 7 days after the shock experiment were compared between the three groups.
Animals in Group I showed remarkably decreased pulse pressure during the shock period. Metabolic acidosis after the shock period in Group I was remarkable, resulting in a significantly higher mortality compared with Group III. In Group II, pulse pressure during the shock period was higher than in Group I. Metabolic acidosis after the shock period in Group II was less marked than in Group I, and mortality tended to be lowered in Group II.
These results indicated that physical training induced resistance to hemorrhagic shock in aged rats. One of the mediating mechanisms in this cross-adaptation between exercise and hemorrhagic shock may be changes in oxygen transport system.

Eleven hospitalized patients (mean age of 53 years) who suffered from hepatic cirrhosis with esophageal (or gastric) varices were brought to a physical training program. The program consisted of voluntary walking, stair climbing and exercise on a treadmill or on a bicycle ergometer, lasting for 14 days-3 months.
All of the 11 patients acquired general well-being after the training program. Six of them who received an exercise testing showed improved physical fitness after the training program as proved by the reduced pulse rate during exercise or increased tolerance to an exercise load. Some of the patients showed slightly or moderately increased values in hepatic function tests, however, none of them showed physical signs indicating aggravation of the disease. Among 6 patients with so-called hepatogenic diabetes mellitus, amount of insulin required was reduced in 4 patients and glucose output in urine was reduced in all of the 6 patients after the training program, indicating an improved glucose metabolism in those patients. All of the patients, including 6 patients who underwent surgical treatment for varices, were discharged from the hospital in good performance status.
These results indicated that patients with hepatic cirrhosis could safely undergo physical reconditioning which benefits the patients in terms of regaining physical fitness for surgical treatment or for social life.

It is recently observed that there is in a tendency toward obesity or deficiency of endurance to the physique among schoolchildren. Consequently there is much interest for exercise through our nation.
Noting these facts, we conducted experiments similar to those previously reported for getting basic data of body composition, by loading 28-days exercise on male rats on 8 percent and 20 percent casein diets.
1. The food intake of the exercise groups was smaller than that of the control in each pair. During the exercise period, food intake of group II also showed similar decreases to those in group I, however, during the rest period, food intakes increased as compared to those of the control. In comparison of caloric requirement for 1g increase of body weight, exercised rats showed higher calories than the control in exercise periods. In the rest period, however, these caloric values decreased as compared with the control.
2. For organ weight per 100g of body weight, significant difference was observed in the heart and kidneys. The gastrocnemius muscles showed almost similar values to the control. The liver and testes did not differ in the weights per 100g of fat free mass of body between the exercise and the control groups.
3. The water contents (%) in the carcasses of exercised rats each fed the 8% and 20% casein diets in group I and I' differed significantly when compared with the control animals, but there was no difference in the water contents of the organs of all groups.
4. In the case of exercised rats in groups I and I', body lipid contents (%) were significantly lower than that of the control group, irrespective of the protein levels in the diets. On the other hand, for rats fed the 8% casein diet in group II, there was no difference in lipid content (%) in the carcasses as compared with the control rats. In the 8% and 20% casein diet groups, lipid contents (%) in the liver of exercised rats in groups I and I' also decreased considerably compared with the control level. In group II, the lipid content in the liver recovered to the control level or had a tendency to increase slightly.
5. The differences of body weight between the control and the exercised rats in each group were nearly equal to the difference of the sum of body lipids and water contents in the whole body between the two groups. From these data, it was suggested that the differences of body weight in each group between the exercised and control rats could be explained as the changes of lipids and water contentes in the body.

Five type II diabetic patients (2 males and 3 females, 61-74 years of age) were immersed in cold-spring water (13°C) for 15min, twice or 3 times a day for consecutive 12 days at Kan-no-Jigoku spa in Japan.
In all of the patients, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures rose, and pulse rate increased during the acute cold exposure. This circulatory response to cold-water immersion tended to decrease after 12 days' serial immersions. After each immersion, blood glucose levels are lowered in all of the patients, suggesting the enhanced uptake of glucose by the tissue. After the 12 days' cure, 2 patients with relatively lower severity of diabetes showed improved glucose tolerance estimated by 50g oral glucose tolerance tests. No significant improvement of insulin secretion was observed in 25g intravenous glucose tolerance tests in the present study. Among 3 patients whose urinary output of glucose was measured daily, 2 patients showed gradually decreased urinary glucose and one showed almost no glucosuria throughout the 12 days' cure.
These results indicate that cold-water immersion stimulates the utilization of glucose as seen in exercise and that repeated cold-water immersions, if performed carefully, could be a regimen for diabetic patients.

In order to obtain certain basic data to he used in planning a physical training program for archers, we carried out physical constitution and fitness tests on six male members of a university archery club (20 to 21 years), after checking the actual bow weights they usually used. Parallel to these examinations we made the subjects launch three shots and run a distance of 30 meters to and fro to recover the arrows. Their energy consumption during this training and at rest was measured to clarify the intensity of archery training. The results are as follows :
1) In body height and body weight there was no difference between our subjects and the Olympic candidates in a training session, however, it was evident that the former had a smaller girth of chest than the latter did.
2) As to physical strength, there was no difference between our subjects and the Olympic candidates, in other factors except in shoulder-arm muscles strength which the subjects were slightly weaker than the Olympic candidates.
3) A positive correlation was found between the actual bow weight and shoulderarm muscle strength of archers, and the correlation coefficient was +0.73 in push and +0.50 in pull.
4) As a result of a basal metabolism test, the mean value was 38.3 kcal/m2/hr, which corresponds approximately with the mean value calculated from the standard basal metabolic rate.
5) A positive correlation was found between the total energy consumption and body weight or surface area of archers, and the correlation coefficient was +0.73 in body weight and +0.76 in surface area. A negative correlation was found between the total energy consumption and a year of experience, obtaining correlation coefficient of -0.68.
6) A relative metabolic rate was obtained from the caloric consumption during training ; the highest value was 2.7 and the lowest 1.9, while the mean was 2.2.