author

Francis Fuller

1670–1706

A Bristol-born English medical writer, he is best remembered for arguing that exercise was a powerful part of staying well and recovering from illness. His work stands out as an early, practical defense of movement as medicine.

1 Audiobook

Medicina Gymnastica or, A treatise concerning the power of exercise, with respect to the animal oeconomy; and the great necessity of it in the cure of several distempers

Medicina Gymnastica or, A treatise concerning the power of exercise, with respect to the animal oeconomy; and the great necessity of it in the cure of several distempers

by Francis Fuller

About the author

Born in Bristol in 1670, Francis Fuller was the son of the nonconformist minister Francis Fuller. He studied at St John's College, Cambridge, taking his B.A. in 1691 and later receiving an M.A. in 1704.

Fuller wrote about health in a direct, experience-based way. Accounts of his life say that after suffering from severe hypochondriasis and other health troubles, he became convinced of the value of regular exercise, especially riding, and turned those ideas into medical writing.

He is best known for Medicina Gymnastica, a work that promoted exercise as an important aid in preserving health and treating disease. Though he died quite young in 1706, his name remains linked with the early history of exercise therapy.