EVATRIC NEWS

Few garments have become a cultural icon to the extent that the famous, or perhaps infamous, straight jacket has.  The straight jacket is shirt like device that uses straps and other contrivances to restrain an individual that poses a threat to him or her self or another individual.  Many stage magicians, most notably Harry Houdini, have made a career based largely in part on their ability to escape from a secured straight jacket.  

The straight jacket is only used today to restrain those who could otherwise do great harm to themselves or others.  This was not always the case--in the nineteenth century, the straight jacket was commonly used in mental institutions as a means of control and punishment.  Patients would be forced to remain for hours in a straight jacket, unable to move their arms or perform even the most basic of functions.

We often see the straight jacket portrayed as a device meant to control so called "crazy" people.  The straight jacket is a popular motif associated with mental illness.  Cartoons, movies, and television shows make use of the straight jacket as a main prop to demonstrate the depravity of the patient.  

The rather draconian uses of the straight jacket made the public consider the device to be nearly impossible to escape from.  While most of us would be stuck if we were to be placed in a modern straight jacket, straight jackets from the past were of a much simpler design and many could simply be peeled off if the wearer possessed sufficient flexibility in his or her joints.  Harry Houdini, who perfected the art of the straight jacket escape, was able to dislocate both of his shoulders in order to gain the clearance necessary to remove the straight jacket.  
One reason why the straight jacket is not used to the extent as it was during the Victorian era is because medical science has become more aware of the damage, both physical and emotional, that can be caused by spending time in a straight jacket.  There are now gentler means of restraint that can be used and the straight jacket is only used as a final resort.  Wearing a straight jacket for long periods of time can cause the blood to pool in the elbows and the hands.  This can cause painful and sometime serious injuries, particularly if the straight jacket is used in such a way as to compromise circulation to part of the arms or hands.  

The straight jacket has become something of a cultural icon.  Its use in modern medical science is actually quite rare; nevertheless, many have been so influenced with the images that they have encountered of the straight jacket over the years that they become convinced that mental health treatment always requires a straight jacket.  This is clearly untrue, of course.  Only those patients who present an immediate and real threat are required to wear a straight jacket for any period of time.