Straitjacket

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A straitjacket (often misspelled "straight jacket) is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves which are wrapped around the body and buckled, locked or tied behind the back of the wearer. This technique holds their arms close to their chest with little possibility of escape or movement.

The straitjacket comes from the Georgian era of medicine. Physical restraint was used both as treatment for mental illness and to pacify patients in understaffed asylums.

Straitjackets are used to restrain people who may otherwise cause harm to themselves and others. Its effectiveness as a restraint makes it of especial interest in escapology. The straitjacket is also a staple prop in stage magic and is sometimes used in bondage games.

Escape techniques

To remove a straitjacket with both back and crotch straps, it is almost always necessary to be able to dislocate one's shoulders in order to gain the slack necessary to pull an arm out of the sleeves. Without this ability, only a very oversized one can be escaped from. Even then, this trick does not work with closed-collar jackets. It is sometimes possible to get more room by pulling at the inside of the arms as they're being strapped or by keeping an elbow held outward to gain slack in the sleeves when the arm is relaxed. Another way to gain slack is to take and hold a deep breath while the jacket is being done up.

It is possible for one person to put a willing volunteer into a straitjacket, but it generally takes at least two people to jacket a struggling person, and yet another to keep an eye out for such tricks.

For a jacket without a front strap, the most common way to escape is to hoist the arms over the head before undoing the crotch strap and at least the strap at the back of the neck. This allows the jacket to simply be peeled off upward over the head. The straitjacket escape was popularized by Houdini, who could dislocate both his shoulders. His magician brother, Theodore Hardeen, who also did the escape, could only dislocate one shoulder. Houdini first did it behind a curtain, forcing the audience to listen to thumps while watching a billowing curtain for many minutes. He found the trick went over better when the audience could see his struggles. In one of his later and more popular acts, he would perform the straitjacket escape while hung upside down from a skyscraper.

Precautions

Wearing an institutional straitjacket for long periods of time can be quite painful. Blood tends to pool in the elbows, where swelling may then occur. The hands may become numb from lack of proper circulation, and due to bone and muscle stiffness, the upper arms and shoulders may experience excruciating pain. Thrashing around while in a straitjacket is a common, but mostly ineffective, method of attempting to move and stretch the arms.

Some jackets intended for fetish use include additional restraining features like wrist straps, lockable fastenings to cross the arms behind the back. Again, these should be used cautiously and never for long periods, as they can interfere with circulation or make the jacket difficult to release in the event of an emergency.

Gallery

Sources

Csara
http://www.csara.net/shop/product_info.php?cPath=33_44_182_69&products_id=95 Has an attractive waist belt
Mr. S/Madam S
http://www.madame-s.com/cgi-bin/madame-s/SL80w.html
Top-to-Bottom Leathers
http://www.top-to-bottom-leathers.co.uk/binsa1.php3

See also Bolero straight jacket and/or straitjacket catsuit

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