Photonic Stimulator - The Lightness of Healing

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Laura Lee News - The Bearable Lightness of Healing

Wednesday, April 03, 2002 11:16 PM

Photonic Stimulator - The Lightness of Healing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bearable Lightness of Healing

By Kendra Mayfield

The San Diego Padres are seeing -- and feeling -- the light.

 

As the Padres prepare for the major league baseball season of 162

games in 180 days, some of the players are treating their aches and pains with a

therapy that uses light.

 

The Padres use a hand-held device called the Photonic Stimulator,

which emits infrared light that penetrates the skin to stimulate blood flow and

circulation in targeted areas. The device, from Computerized Thermal Imaging

(CTI), provides temporary relief of minor aches and pains where heat is

indicated.

 

Infrared light " is one of the only physical therapies that acts to

create a healing effect, " said Curtis Turchin, CTI's director of clinical

sciences. " Cells that are injured can actually be brought back to life by

light. "

 

This form of light therapy can be used to treat ankle sprains as

well as nerve cells damaged from spinal cord injuries.

 

" This is the single biggest breakthrough in healthcare I've seen in

30 years, " said Len Saputo, an internist who is also the founder and director of

the Health Medicine Forum.

 

" This is a tremendous addition to our arsenal of treatments that can

be used to manage sports injuries of any kind, " Saputo said. " This will be

something that will be mainstream therapy for professional athletes around the

world. "

 

While infrared light has been used in Europe and Asia for almost

three decades, the therapy is relatively new in the United States, only recently

gaining FDA approval.

 

Infrared light " is one of the safest therapies on the market today, "

Turchin said. " It has almost no side effects with various positive benefits. "

 

Athletes can use infrared light therapy before a competition to

loosen up muscles and after a game to reduce soreness, pain and swelling.

 

A practitioner holds the Photonic Stimulator where treatment is

needed, just above the skin's surface. One can adjust the frequency, or the

amount of light the device will emit, depending on the patient's age, weight and

muscle mass. When infrared laser light is administered, it reduces sensitivity

of neural pathways and causes the body to release endorphins that provide a

nontoxic, natural form of pain relief.

 

The USA Track and Field team used the Photonic Stimulator during the

2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the Olympic Trials in Sacramento, California.

Over 50 athletes were treated with this light therapy technology.

 

Currently, the Padres are the only major league baseball team to use

the Photonic Stimulator. CTI has just begun proactively marketing the product,

and the company hopes to enlist other pro teams, including baseball, basketball,

football and hockey.

 

Other companies are also marketing infrared light therapy products

to athletes. For example, BioScan markets portable Light Patch, Spinal Pad and

Knee Saver products that deliver heat through infrared light diodes. The Knee

Saver was originally designed for players from the Philadelphia Eagles and then

used by other pro football teams.

 

Unlike ultrasound and electrical stimulation, infrared technology is

so gentle that athletes can use it frequently without causing more damage to

injuries.

 

That competitive edge is critical in sports such as baseball, where

just a few days or weeks of photonic stimulation can mean the difference between

riding the bench and completing the season.

 

Light therapy has broader implications beyond sports medicine.

 

Using the Photonic Stimulator, hip fractures can heal faster and

full motion can be restored within just a few treatments, Saputo said. People

with back problems, nerve damage, muscular diseases, tennis elbow, burns and

other ailments have all shown marked signs of improvement using infrared light

therapy.

 

The technology can also offset the long-term costs of surgery,

steroid injections, pain medicines and physical therapy visits.

 

" You will be seeing infrared light used for all kinds of pain

control in the future, " Turchin said. " There will always be a place for

ultrasound and electrical stimulation. But there are many situations where

doctors will start using light for treatment. "

 

Infrared light therapy " is really a breakthrough in healthcare and

pain management, " Saputo agreed. " In sports medicine it will be a panacea as

soon as people recognize it. "

 

NASA has plans to use infrared lights in space within the next five

years to heal astronauts' wounds or injuries, Turchin said.

 

CTI has also introduced thermal imaging technology that produces

instant color-enhanced pictures that show real-time differences in body

temperature where pain occurs.

 

CTI's Breast Cancer System 2100 is designed to help doctors detect

breast cancer by differentiating between benign and malignant lesions, without

performing invasive breast biopsies. The system is still awaiting FDA approval.

 

Light and heat therapy can be used separately or together, or they

can be combined with other treatments, such as acupuncture, physical therapy and

chiropractic work.

 

Both these technologies will undoubtedly play a critical role in the

next few years.

 

" In the 20th century, people were looking at sound as being a

powerful tool, " Turchin said. " The 21st century will be a century of the photon,

of fiber optic cable and the Internet. You will see lasers and fiber optics play

a bigger part in therapy. "

 

Source: www.wired.com

 

 

 

 

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