~e; infrared body.repair

[bc <human@electronetwork.org>]

  [of IR lightwork, when researching IR photography recently
  came across a website for UV photography which had a link
  to a doctors office, which had a high-end setup of UV photo
  equipment (probably off the shelf, but repackaged), and it
  would take a UV picture of a person's face, which would be
  able to show damage from UV light on the human skin. they
  had a photo and a face looked like it had sunspots all over it.
  apparently, the doctors can fix it, that which is not seen...]


The Bearable Lightness of Healing
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,50853,00.html
By Kendra Mayfield

2:00 a.m. March 14, 2002 PST

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."

Copyright (C) 1994-2002 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.

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