Janet G. Travell
Encyclopedia
Dr. Janet Graeme Travell, M.D. (December 17, 1901 — August 1, 1997) was an American
physician and medical researcher. She was born in 1901 to Willard and Janet Davidson Travell. Heavily influenced by her father's profession of physician
, Travell made the decision to pursue a career in the medical field. In 1929, Janet married John W.G. Powell, who was an investment counselor. Their marriage produced two daughters—Janet and Virginia. At the age of 95, Travell died of heart failure at her home in Northampton, Massachusetts.
She is remembered as President John F. Kennedy
's personal physician and a researcher of the concept of trigger point
s as a cause of musculoskeletal referred pain.
. Upon graduating in 1926, Travell completed two years of residency at New York Hospital while concurrently serving as an ambulance surgeon for the New York City police force. After completion of residency, Travell became a research fellow at Bellevue Hospital, where she studied the effects of digitalis in patients with lobar pneumonia. Once her fellowship was concluded, Dr. Travell returned to Cornell University
to serve as Instructor in Department of Pharmacology and later as Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacology. While working for Cornell, she also acted as a cardiology consultant for Sea View Hospital in Staten Island.
Travell accepted a Josiah Macy, Jr. Fellowship at Beth Israel Hospital in New York to study arterial disease from 1939 to 1941. It was during her tenure that she first became interested in skeletal muscle pain, which defined her later career. Her research produced new anesthetic techniques for the treatment of painful back muscle spasms that proved very successful among patients. Travell's techniques included the use of a local procaine injection and vapocoolant sprays to relieve pain. The sprays are still popular in sports medicine treatments today.
It was her success with alleviating skeletal muscle pain that resulted in Travell being the first female Personal Physician to the President. Travell was called upon by the personal orthopedic surgeon of Senator John F. Kennedy to assist with back pain treatments. Kennedy suffered from terrible pain resulting from invasive back surgeries related to injuries sustained during World War II. When Kennedy won the Presidential race in 1960, he appointed her as his personal physician. Her treatments included the use of a rocking chair to help alleviate pain, which led to the popularization of the furniture piece among Americans. She continued to serve as Personal Physician to the President when Lyndon B. Johnson was elected, but decided to leave the White House in 1965.
While serving as the President's personal physician, Travell also took on the role of Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University
in 1961. Even after leaving the White House, she continued teaching at the University as a faculty for the School of Medicine. She occupied positions as Associate Clinical Professor 1961-1970, Emeritus Clinical Professor of Medicine 1970-1988, and Honorary Clinical Professor of Medicine from 1988 until her death in 1997. Travell remained active in the medical field until the end: writing articles, giving lectures, and attending conferences.
, secondary to trigger point
s, first written about in the 1920s by Dr Dudley J. Morton. She drew attention to the role of "Morton's Toe
" -- one or both of two abnormal, inherited conditions of the first metatarsal bone of the foot—and its responsibility for causing physical pain throughout the body.
Travell's research resulted in over 100 scientific articles, as well as the acclaimed co-authored book with David G. Simons: Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction. The Trigger Point Manual. She also wrote her autobiography, Office Hours: Day and Night, which sheds light on her career and life.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician and medical researcher. She was born in 1901 to Willard and Janet Davidson Travell. Heavily influenced by her father's profession of physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, Travell made the decision to pursue a career in the medical field. In 1929, Janet married John W.G. Powell, who was an investment counselor. Their marriage produced two daughters—Janet and Virginia. At the age of 95, Travell died of heart failure at her home in Northampton, Massachusetts.
She is remembered as President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's personal physician and a researcher of the concept of trigger point
Trigger point
Trigger points, also known as trigger sites or muscle knots, are described as hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers. Trigger point practitioners believe that palpable nodules are small contraction knots and a common cause of...
s as a cause of musculoskeletal referred pain.
Career
Dr. Travell's career was ambitious and included pioneering techniques for the treatment of myofascial pain. Her career began with her educational pursuits at Wellesley College and continued in graduate school as she pursued an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Upon graduating in 1926, Travell completed two years of residency at New York Hospital while concurrently serving as an ambulance surgeon for the New York City police force. After completion of residency, Travell became a research fellow at Bellevue Hospital, where she studied the effects of digitalis in patients with lobar pneumonia. Once her fellowship was concluded, Dr. Travell returned to Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
to serve as Instructor in Department of Pharmacology and later as Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacology. While working for Cornell, she also acted as a cardiology consultant for Sea View Hospital in Staten Island.
Travell accepted a Josiah Macy, Jr. Fellowship at Beth Israel Hospital in New York to study arterial disease from 1939 to 1941. It was during her tenure that she first became interested in skeletal muscle pain, which defined her later career. Her research produced new anesthetic techniques for the treatment of painful back muscle spasms that proved very successful among patients. Travell's techniques included the use of a local procaine injection and vapocoolant sprays to relieve pain. The sprays are still popular in sports medicine treatments today.
It was her success with alleviating skeletal muscle pain that resulted in Travell being the first female Personal Physician to the President. Travell was called upon by the personal orthopedic surgeon of Senator John F. Kennedy to assist with back pain treatments. Kennedy suffered from terrible pain resulting from invasive back surgeries related to injuries sustained during World War II. When Kennedy won the Presidential race in 1960, he appointed her as his personal physician. Her treatments included the use of a rocking chair to help alleviate pain, which led to the popularization of the furniture piece among Americans. She continued to serve as Personal Physician to the President when Lyndon B. Johnson was elected, but decided to leave the White House in 1965.
While serving as the President's personal physician, Travell also took on the role of Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in 1961. Even after leaving the White House, she continued teaching at the University as a faculty for the School of Medicine. She occupied positions as Associate Clinical Professor 1961-1970, Emeritus Clinical Professor of Medicine 1970-1988, and Honorary Clinical Professor of Medicine from 1988 until her death in 1997. Travell remained active in the medical field until the end: writing articles, giving lectures, and attending conferences.
Research
Her personal interest led her to investigate, explain and expound on the phenomenon of myofascial pain syndromeMyofascial pain syndrome
Myofascial pain syndrome , also known as chronic myofascial pain , is a syndrome characterized by chronic pain caused by multiple trigger points and fascial constrictions...
, secondary to trigger point
Trigger point
Trigger points, also known as trigger sites or muscle knots, are described as hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers. Trigger point practitioners believe that palpable nodules are small contraction knots and a common cause of...
s, first written about in the 1920s by Dr Dudley J. Morton. She drew attention to the role of "Morton's Toe
Morton's toe
Morton's toe is the common term for the condition of a shortened first metatarsal in relation to the second metatarsal. It is a type of brachymetatarsia. This promotes an anterior position of the second metatarsal-phalangeal joint in relation to the hallux...
" -- one or both of two abnormal, inherited conditions of the first metatarsal bone of the foot—and its responsibility for causing physical pain throughout the body.
Travell's research resulted in over 100 scientific articles, as well as the acclaimed co-authored book with David G. Simons: Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction. The Trigger Point Manual. She also wrote her autobiography, Office Hours: Day and Night, which sheds light on her career and life.
Quote
- "I have lived in a very special world - a world of love and security; beauty and serenity; opportunity, adventure, and variety; challenge and achievement; and the appreciation of my peers. I have had a sufficiency of everything that I desired and a surfeit of nothing." Dr. Travell, author's note to Office Hours: Day and Night, 1968.