Hans Kraus (November 28, 1905 in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

– March 6, 1996, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) was a physician, physical therapist, mountaineer and alpinist. A pioneer of modern rock climbing, he was also one of the fathers of

sports medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

and

physical medicine and rehabilitation Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. This can include conditions su ...

and was elected to the U.S.

National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a t ...

in 1974.

Career

Born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kraus attended medical school in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in the 1920s, against his father's wishes, becoming an

orthopedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

surgeon. Through his subsequent practice he developed a philosophy of treatment at odds with traditional medicine of the time. He would evolve this method, called "immediate mobilization", over his entire medical career. Passing his medical exams in New York, Kraus continued developing unique methods of fracture treatment, applying them to all kinds of athletes. He became especially well known in skiing circles. In the 1950s, Kraus was behind a push by the

Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Ma ...

to regulat e climbing in the Shawangunks, and to install a safety code to prevent climbing accidents. This safety code led to conflicts with

Lester Germer Lester Halbert Germer (October 10, 1896 – October 3, 1971) was an American physicist. With Clinton Davisson, he proved the wave-particle duality of matter in the Davisson–Germer experiment, which was important to the development of the elect ...

and The Vulgarians, and was later abandoned. Kraus warned Americans that children were not getting enough exercise and were watching too much television. Along with Bonnie Prudden, he campaigned for better physical exercise programs for children, and authored several books on exercise, sports medicine, and physical therapy. Eisenhower championed Kraus and his campaign to get Americans to exercise. However, by 1957, it was clear that Kraus was unsuccessful. Kraus was broadly opposed by the AMA and gym teachers (who felt Kraus was disparaging to their leadership) and many Americans, as ''Sports Illustrated'' reported in 1957, who worried that mandatory exercise programs for children would "Hitlerize American youth." Kraus also continued to develop a unique approach to treating back pain in collaboration with another doctor, Sonja Weber. They developed an understanding of the underlying causes of back pain and devised the Kraus–Weber test (also called K–W test) and exercises to alleviate it. Kraus was an associate professor at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine. His studies on children led to President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

establishing the

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports The President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN) is an American government organization that aims to "promote, encourage and motivate Americans of all ages to become Physical activity, physically active and participate in sports". ...

. In October 1961, Kraus became President Kennedy's secret White House back doctor. The story of Kennedy's back had never prior been reported, although there was much speculation; but Kraus and Kennedy's two other White House doctors had sworn confidentiality. In April 2006, over ten years after Kraus's death, Kraus's widow donated Kraus's White House medical records on Kennedy to the Kennedy Library.John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Accessed October 18, 2022. Kraus's medical records purported to show that by the time of Kennedy's death in Dallas, Kraus's therapy had nearly cured Kennedy of his lifelong back pain. Kraus's White House medical records also contain several entries about Kennedy's back corset, which he had worn since Harvard. Kraus recorded that he had grown convinced that the corset was impeding Kennedy's recovery and that Kennedy needed to permanently stop wearing it. In October 1963, Kennedy told Kraus that he would stop wearing his corset indefinitely starting in January 1964. Several leading presidential historians, including

James Reston James Barrett Reston (November 3, 1909 – December 6, 1995), nicknamed "Scotty", was an American journalist whose career spanned the mid-1930s to the early 1990s. He was associated for many years with ''The New York Times.'' Early lif ...

and

Robert Dallek Robert A. Dallek (born May 16, 1934) is an American historian specializing in the presidents of the United States, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon. He retired as a history professor at Bost ...

, theorized that Kennedy might have survived Dallas had he been wearing the corset."The Medical Ordeals of JFK"
''The Atlantic'', December 2002.

Climbing

Among his friends and climbing partners were

Emilio Comici Leonardo Emilio Comici (21 February 1901 – 19 October 1940) was an Italian mountain climber and caver. He made numerous ascents in the Eastern Alps, particularly in the Dolomites (where he made over 200 first ascents during his career) and in the ...

and Gino Soldà. He would later bring the Dolomite techniques of high-angle face climbing to the United States In 1940, he met

Fritz Wiessner Fritz Wiessner (February 26, 1900 – July 3, 1988) was a German American pioneer of free climbing. Born in Dresden, Germany, he immigrated to New York City in 1929 and became a U.S. citizen in 1935. In 1939, he made one of the earliest att ...

, who would become a lifelong friend and climbing partner. Wiessner had discovered the Shawangunks in 1935, and together Kraus and Wiessner spent every spare day developing routes in the area. Wiessner was known for his outstanding free climbing technique; Kraus's specialty was aid climbing. Thus, the two men's climbing skills complemented each other. While both men enjoyed climbing with women (notably with Bonnie Prudden, an accomplished climber in her own right), they continued to climb together, with often spectacular results. One of Kraus's and Wiessner's most significant efforts at the Gunks was High Exposure, a bold 5.6 that involves a blind reach around an overhung corner 150 feet up in the air; the route still confounds novice climbers. Done in 1941, with a hemp rope and three soft-iron pitons for protection, High Exposure was a world-class accomplishment. In November 1975, Kraus reclimbed the route – his favorite – to celebrate his 70th birthday. Other significant Kraus's

first ascents In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route A climbing route is a path by which a climber rea ...

in the Gunks included: Northern Pillar 5.2 (The first technical rock climb in ''The Trapps''; Three Pines 5.3; Horseman 5.5; Madame Grunnebaum's Wulst 5.6; Easy Overhang 5.2; Bitchy Virgin 5.7R (the first "R" rated climb in the Shawangunks); and Emilio 5.7 (the first aid climb in the Gunks – Kraus and Wiessner employed a shoulder stand). By the end of the 1940s, the Shawangunks had fifty-eight documented climbing routes. Twenty-six of these were first ascents by Kraus; 23 were by Wiessner.

Personal life

Kraus was born in what is now

Trieste, Italy Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

, which at the time was part of the 1867–1918 Austro-Hungarian Empire, he was taught English as a youth by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

. In 1938, the Kraus family fled Europe, just ahead of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, this time to the United States. They settled in

. Kraus was not allowed to enlist in the U.S. military because he had been born in Trieste, which had belonged to the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

at the time of Kraus's birth. Therefore, he was technically considered an "enemy alien", even though he was a legal immigrant, and a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

. He became a U.S. citizen in 1945. Sometime in the late 1930s (precise date unknown; pre-1938), Kraus married Susanne Simon. The marriage was apparently not a happy one, and they separated in 1944 and were divorced in the 1950s. In 1959, Kraus remarried, to Madi Springer-Miller, a champion skier and the first woman to ski the "Lip" of Tuckerman's Ravine on

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...

. They had two daughters, Ann and Mary. In 1984, at the age of 79, Kraus stopped climbing completely, due to arthritis, and the cumulative effects of various injuries. His last climb was ''Easy Overhang'', a route he had done the first ascent of in 1941. In 1995, Kraus was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He died peacefully on the morning of March 6, 1996, aged 90, in his New York City apartment, holding his daughter's hand. His ashes were carried up the ''High Exposure'' buttress by an old friend and scattered into the air at the top.

List of works

Books * Hypokinetic Disease: Diseases Caused by Lack of Exercise' (1965; with Wilhelm Raab) * Backache, Stress, and Tension, Their Cause, Prevention, and Treatment (1965) * The Cause, Prevention and Treatment of Backache (1969) * Clinical Treatment of Back and Neck Pain (1970) * The Causes, Prevention and Treatment of Sports Injuries (1981) * The Sports Injury Handbook (1987) * Diagnosis and Treatment of Muscle Pain (1988) * Backache, Stress, and Tension: Understanding Why You Have Back Pain and Simple Exercises to Prevent and Treat It (2015; updated edition) * Clinical Treatment of Back and Neck Pain (1970) Journal publications * Kraus H & Eisenmenger-Weber S (1945) Evaluation of posture based on structural and functional measurements, ''The Physiotherapy review'' 25:267–71
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1947) Therapeutic exercises in pediatrics, ''The Medical clinics of North America'' 31:626–35
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H & Eisenmenger-Weber S (1947) Fundamental considerations of posture exercises guided by qualitative and quantitative measurements and tests, ''The Physiotherapy review'' 27(6):361–8
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1949) Clinical pathophysiology of therapeutic exercises, ''New York state journal of medicine'' 49(3):294–6
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1949) The role of therapeutic exercises in the treatment of low back pain, ''New York state journal of medicine'' 49(13):1523
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Weber S & Kraus H (1949) Passive and active stretching of muscles; spring stretch and control group, ''The Physical therapy review'' 29(9):407–10
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1952) Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain, ''GP'' 5(4):55–60
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H & Hirschland RP (1954) Muscular fitness and orthopedic disability, ''New York state journal of medicine'' 54(2):212–5
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H, Hirschland BP, Hirschhorn K (1956) Role of inactivity in production of disease; hypokinetic disease, ''Journal of the American Geriatrics Society'' 4(5):463–71.
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Hirschhorn K, Hirschland BP, Kraus H (1956) Hypokinetic disease; role of inactivity in production of disease, ''The British journal of physical medicine: including its application to industry'' 19(8):180–5
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1959) Prevention and treatment of ski injuries, ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' 169(13):1414–1419
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H, Nagler W, Weber S (1959) Role of exercise in the prevention of disease, ''GP'' 20:121–6
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1959) Evaluation and treatment of muscle function in athletic injury, ''American Journal of surgery'' 98:353–62
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1961) Prevention and treatment of skiing injuries, ''The Journal of Trauma'' 1:457–63
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1964) Pseudodisc—the problem of backache, ''Proceedings of the Rudolf Virchow Medical Society in the City of New York'' 23:50–9
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1965) Preventive value of physical fitness in the young, ''Southern Medical Journal'' 58(12):1561–1564
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1966) Muscle function of the temporomandibular joint, ''Dental clinics of North America'' 553–8
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1967) "Pseudo-disc", ''Southern Medical Journal'' 60(4):416–
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1967) Prevention of low back pain, ''Journal of occupational medicine'' 9(11):555–9
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H & Kirsten R (1968) [Effect of swimming training on muscle metabolism], ''Monatsschrift fur Kinderheilkunde'' 116(6):313–5.
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H, Kirsten R, Wolff JR (1969) [Effect of swimming and running exercise on the cellular function and structure of muscle], ''Pflügers Archiv: European Journal of physiology'' 308(1):57–79
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H & Kirsten R (1970) [Effect of physical training on mitochondrial energy production in heart muscle and liver], ''Pflügers Archiv: European Journal of physiology'' 320(4):334–47
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H & Kinne R (1970) [Regulation of the observed metabolic adaptation and performance increase by thyroid hormones during prolonged physical training], ''Pflügers Archiv: European Journal of physiology'' 321(4):332–4
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Farfan HF, Cossette JW, Robertson GH, Wells RV, Kraus H (1970) The effects of torsion on the lumbar intervertebral joints: the role of torsion in the production of disc degeneration, ''Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery'' 52(3):468–97
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1972) Evaluation of muscular and cardiovascular fitness, ''Preventive medicine'' 1(1):178–84
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1972) Reconditioning after knee injuries, ''New York state journal of medicine'' 72(8):941-5
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1973) Triggerpoints, ''New York state journal of medicine'' 73(11):1310–1314
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Lamy C, Bazergui A, Kraus H, Farfan HF (1975) The strength of the neural arch and the etiology of spondylolysis, ''The Orthopedic clinics of North America'' 6(1):215–31
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1975) The need for relaxation in athletics, ''The Journal of Sports Medicine'' 3(1):41–3
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1976) Effect of lordosis on the stress in the lumbar spine, ''Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research'' (117): 56–8
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H, Melleby A, Gaston SR (1977) Back pain correction and prevention. National voluntary organizational approach, ''New York state journal of medicine'' 77(8):1335–1338
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1977) Research methods in the biomechanics of sports, ''The Orthopedic clinics of North America'' 8(3):549–62
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Afalonis A, Kraus H, Davis O, Neubauer RA, End E, George F, Furth FW, Davidson MR (1978) Letters, ''The Physician and sportsmedicine'' 6(2):9–17
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Nicholas JA, Sapega A, Kraus H, Webb JN (1978) Factors influencing manual muscle tests in physical therapy, ''Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery'' 60(2):186–90
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H (1978) Reconditioning aging muscles, ''Geriatrics'' 33(6):93–6
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H, Nagler W, Melleby A (1983) Evaluation of an exercise program for back pain, ''American Family Physician Journal'' 28(3):153–8
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H & Fischer AA (1991) Diagnosis and treatment of myofascial pain, ''Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine'' 58(3):235–9
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Marcus N, Kraus H, Rachlin E (1995) Comments on K.H. Njoo and E. Van der Does, PAIN 58(1994): 317–323. ''PAIN'' 61(1):159
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>">ubmed">[Pubmed
/nowiki>* Kraus H & Marcus NJ (1997) The reintroduction of an exercise program to directly treat low back pain of muscular origin, ''Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation'' 8(2): 95–107
[Pubmed
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="ubmed">[Pubmed
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/nowiki>

References

* Susan E. B. Schwartz (2005). ''Into The Unknown: The Remarkable Life of Hans Kraus''. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse. * Waterman, Laura and Guy (1993). Yankee Rock and Ice: A History of Climbing in the Northeastern United States, with A. Peter Lewis, photography. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. * Williams, Richard (2000). ''Shawangunk Rock Climbs: The Trapps''. Golden, CO: American Alpine Club.

External links

Short bio of Hans Kraus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraus, Hans 1905 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Austrian people Austrian mountain climbers Sportspeople from Vienna