Career
Dr. Janet G. Travell (1901-1997) was truly a remarkable woman. On the wall of her medical office hung a wooden plaque someone had given her with an inscription carved in it which read: "It's Better to Wear Out Than To Rust Out." She often said in lectures, "Life is like a bicycle. You don't fall off until you stop pedaling." She followed her own advice and kept pedaling all her life, leaving behind a pioneering work related to myofascial pain and its treatment. Dr. Travell helped not only in easing pain in her patients but also encouraged a healthy lifestyle that encompassed exercise, a well-balanced diet, and keeping busy with work, school, and play. Jumping rope was, in Dr. Travell's opinion, one of the keys to healthier living. As she described it: "I kept several jump ropes on hand in my office. My nurse, secretary, and I could close the doors and have ten minutes of jumping rope in the afternoon instead of a coffee break."
Selections from the Exhibit
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Dr. Travell Speaking at a Conference
"Her intellect has also been so clear and broad to inspire the greatest of academicians.
Yet her presentations are so simple, down to earth, and pragmatic to provide the guidance to all health professionals and patients alike. Her sense of humor can fill a room with laughter. Her stories and anecdotes about her life left most awestruck and filled with joy. Her legacy will live on forever in the many students that she has trained over the years."
Dr. James R. Friction, DDS, MS, Memorial Service for Dr. Travell, August 15, 1997.
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Doer's Profile
Dr. Travell is featured as an outstanding person in this Doer's Profile from the Washington Times, July 4, 1996.
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Diabetes Cartoon
Dr. Travell's cartoon about diabetes, "Are You One of A Million?," from Today's Family Doctor, May 1953.
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Riding
Dr. Travell riding her horse at her summer home in Sheffield, Massachusetts, from
Newspaper Enterprise Association, January 27, 1961.
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Foundation for Orthodontic Research Symposium
Dr. Travell (front and center), attending the Foundation for Orthodontic Research
symposium in Palm Springs, California, April 14, 1978.
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Pamphlet: Fitness in Sickness May 29, 1974
Fitness in Sickness: A Seminar on Physical
Activity and Enhancement was a program that focused on the effects of illness in which
Dr. Travell was a committee member.
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Jump Rope in the Office?
"Jump Rope in the Office? Sure, Even at the White House." The Courier Reprints, 1966-67. In this article Dr. Travell describes her experiences in the White House as personal
physician to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and explains that regular exercise and sitting in a good chair "will do wonders for your body."
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Swim Week
Letter from Martin Stern of Swim for Health Association to Dr. Travell thanking her for her advocacy of physical fitness, January 27, 1961. "Many, many thanks for your statement that 'President Kennedy should SWIM FOR HEALTH' broadcast last evening and appearing in this morning's newspapers."
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