Healing Red Light

Revolutionary advanced technology now offers an alternative- the photonic use of needles in acupuncture therapy. It is painless, non-invasive and safe.

Many of us grew up watching Star Trek's Dr. McCoy healing futuristic patients with a wiggle (and cool beeping sounds) of a small hand-held device hovering over the wound. "If only we could do that..." we thought, while resorting to medications with questionable results and possible nasty side effects or to being cut with the surgeon's knife-- the only remedies we've had. Yet, in the past few years, science fiction has become actual science fact with the development of a small flashlight-sized unit along the same lines as Dr. McCoys (but without the beeps) that heals in the form of visible red light and invisible near-infrared energy from light emitting diodes (LEDS). Research studies, along with medical procedures currently being used, have shown that the red light of the LEDS increases energy inside the cells to accelerate healing. In fact, cells exposed to the LED light in these wavelengths have grown 150% to 200% faster than those not treated.

LED light penetrates deeply into the body to a depth of a whopping nine inches (23 cm) but without harming the skin. Although this light is three times brighter than the sun, it is safe and painless and, oddly enough, cool to the touch. Interestingly enough, this technology was originally funded by NASA for projects involving plant growth in the weightlessness of life aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. In those unique environments, certain components of the cells in both plants and humans are distorted. The result is slow growth, decreased well-being, or outright illness. Humans floating around in zero gravity, in particular, suffer immune deficiency, pituitary insufficiency leading to hormone imbalances, delays in wound healing as well as bone and muscle atrophy. Using the red light treatment of LEDs daily, stimulates the astronauts' cells to prevent these effects of long-term weightlessness.

Meridians

According to Chinese philosophers and physicians some 2000 years ago, every object, whether living or non-living- has a specific Life Force or Life Energy that flows through it. In regard to human beings, this slightly mystical vitality functions something like electricity mingled with healing thought to bring health and vigour to the body. The Chinese refer to this force as Ch'i (pronounced "Chee" and translated, "breath"). In their view, the energy moves throughout the body along invisible but distinctly real passageways they call meridians or in Chinese terminology, "jing luo". These channels circulate the Ch'i to invigorate and sustain equilibrium in all parts of the body, including the muscles, tendons, bones, organs, and skin. Every person has twelve primary meridians, and each of these is connected to a specific organ: kidneys, liver, spleen, heart/lungs, paricardium, bladder, gall bladder, stomach, small and large intestines, as well as the body's temperature regulator. The Life Force flows freely and continuously from one meridian to another, entering through a point at one end of a channel and exiting through a point at the other end. When the movement is smooth, the body is healthy and balanced. But whenever this ideal flowing is interrupted or blocked, stagnated or weakened, the Ch'i is inadequate and the body becomes vulnerable to disease. This agitation can result in not only physical pain but mental and emotional suffering as well. What sort of factors can cause this lack of balance? For one thing, highly charged emotional responses to the stresses of twenty-first century life can do it. Overwork, bone-deep fatigue, too many Big Macs and too few carrots and lettuce leaves, all can contribute to the body's compromised well being. Environmental matters such as exposure to toxins, pollution, impure water, second-hand (or first-hand) smoke, and even such hum-drum forces as cold, wind, heat, or humidity, can interfere with the life-giving movement of Ch'i through the body. When a pain arises- say, for example, at the right elbow- it is announcing that deep beneath the skin in that location, the meridian is blocked; the life energy or blood is stagnating there. But the ancient Chinese sages went still further in their thinking. Of huge significance, they taught that along the meridians are situated well over a thousand points (or holes from the word xue) where the Ch'i moving through them rises close to the surface of the body and allows access to the channels below. You might think of these spots as gateways to get at or influence, whether to increase or decrease, the vital Life Energy. They are becoming increasingly well known in our society as acupuncture points. We have a network of them on the left side of the body that is duplicated on the right side. Interestingly enough, a large number of these pressure points are identical to the ones used in American physiotherapy and therapeutic massage to loosen stress-tightened muscles. Scientific studies have shown that the body generates small electrical discharges and that the acupuncture points are huddles in areas of low electrical resistance where conductivity is at its most intense. Modern research has found a correlation between the body's electromagnetic fields and the meridians, so any manipulation of the acupuncture points appears to have an electrical feature at work. In scientific terms, stimulating these areas energises the nerves to the brain which then releases certain neuro-chemicals known to relieve pain. Acupuncture, of course, is provided by skilled practitioners using steel needles in a professional setting. The great advantage of working with a photonic torch, is that you don't have to use any needles, can give yourself treatments as often as you wish in the privacy of your own kitchen or bedroom without fuss or bother to anyone and with no expense to you. This way, you don't even have to climb into the car and battle the traffic to get the therapy that you need.

How does low level laser therapy- the red light of the photonic torch- applied to acupuntrue points work??? The pioneer in the field, the spark plug who initiated and led the research for NASA, is Harry Whelan, MD, Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Hyperbaric (that is, involving pressures higher than normal atmospheric pressure) Medicine and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Dr. Whelan's remarkable work- a spin off from the original projects funded by NASA and the Defence Department- is the line to produce what he calls "a paradigm shift in the entire approach to medicine," a technology whose "potential is quite endless", in providing effective alternatives to traditional medicine's "poisons and knives".When you think about it, this is huge. And not surprisingly, he was inducted into the NASA Space Technology Hall of Fame for his research into the recuperative powers of this exciting and revolutionary therapy. Most notably, he and his team have been using LEDs with young cancer patients, the recipients of bone marrow transplants, to heal the painful throat and mouth ulcers (mucus membrane haemorrhages) and severe gastrointestinal problems frequently caused by standard treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy. As Dr. David Margolis, a pediatirc oncologist at the Children's Mercy Hospital of Wisconsin, puts it, "Some (of these) children who probably would have had to be fed intravenously because of the severe sores in their mouths have been able to eat solid food." and have seen a reduction in "the risk of infections in patients with compromised immune systems" because of their involvement with LED therapy. The application is easy: the photonic torch is simply held against the cheek once daily for about a minute and a half, and the red light penetrates deeply inside the mouth to encourage wound healing and prevent against additional sores. As a result, these children's unhappy lives are greatly improved. Further, Dr. Whelan's brain cancer technique of using laser-light surgical probes has been improved even more with LED technology. This employs a better (i.e., longer) wavelength of light employed to remove brain tumors with lasers but in a smaller, lightweight, more efficient, and vastly cheaper unit- the smae one that can be used by regular folks in their own homes. The military has also been proving the stunning benefits of photonic torch technology. For example, medical personnel aboard the USS Salt Lake City submarine noticed about a 50% quicker healing of crew members' wounds after they underwent LED light stimulation. Likewise, doctors at Navy Special Warfare Command center in Norfolk, VA and San Diego, CA have reported a 40% improvement in musculoskeletal injuries with such treatment. In the battlefields of the Middle East, soldiers are carrying the hand-held units to be self-sufficient- to treat their own injuries when the spasms of war around them prevent a quick dash to the nearest hospital. As an aside, the veterinary use of LED devices has been achieving exciting results with pain and injury in horses as well. Since an animal can't suddenly feel fabulous after using a placebo, the therapy being provided must actually be causing the healing we witness. In other words, the photonic torch works. But how does it do that? We've noted that the red light from light emitting diodes increases the energy inside the cell. As Dr. Whelan explains, "If you think about it, a lot of injuries result in an energy problem because the tissue is damaged, injured, and therefore has difficulties going through its normal processes of energy metabolism. Usually there's a lot of swelling, which strangles the blood vessels. You're getting inadequate oxygen and nutrients, so there's an energy crisis. " The LEDs fix the problem by stimulating the cell's energy engine, the mitochondria. Once this occurs, various chemical events take place to cause actual physiological improvement through a functioning referred to as a photobiostimulation. New cell tissue is produced; bone tissue is demineralized, skin and blood tissue in the treated area is regenerated. Health begins to be restored. And, in fact, it's easy to see that the effect is over and beyond what a mere needle stuck into an acupuncture point can do.