Not Para, but serious spinal injury and have questions please

• By DuchessJewell
• Posted June 1, 2009 at 10:31 am
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I suffer from chronic pain due to my spinal cord injury, but I can walk a little if I want to. But I keep my legs strong by swimming and a recumblent bike. I have no hang up's about my wheelchair as it enables me to get around places like town, college and supermarkets on my own. If I didn't use my wheelchair I would not be able to do these things and be indepentant. I can't sit up to long either, but I have learnt to adjust.
I met someone like me with the same disorder Transverse Myelitis she dosen't use a wheelchair and doesn't go out far. We are the same, but I can do so much more than her because of my chair. She said it would be a step down. But I don't see it that way because I am far more independent than her.
I think the best thing I did, was find ways to carry on as normal. Yesterday I took my scooter to the beach and parked it up and catched two waves on a surf board! without a scooter or chair I would not have made it to the sea, get my point.
All the best to yeh

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 31, 2009 at 3:22 pm
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Sheaphics,
As I mentioned in the LLLT discussion, my SCI involvement is because of a friend who has a SCI, approx T11, complete, two crushed vertebrae from an incident about 7 years ago when a tree fell on him. I began looking for options that might help him, and along the way ran across this site. When I saw a lot of problems similar to what my friend was going thorugh, with some even more challenging situations, I thought about some of the things I had run across which helped with other problems in other situations (many which are the same for those with SCI, but complicated by the overlay of the SCI). And many had not run across some of the information I had seen in looking for things to help my friend. I figured that if I shared some of this, it might help encourage others, hence my comments on the site.

Since you asked, I'll give a detailed background, even though it does not specifically relate to SCI, to explain why I think some of these things should also help with SCI related problems.

I was first introduced to some of the energy medicine alternatives about 5 years ago, when my sister, a highly sceptical chemical engineer, and her husband, an even more sceptical mechanical engineer, began to see significant improvement with their then 25 year old high level autistic son from the use of a resonating laser. Over the next few years I heard bits and pieces, as my sister began to work with other technolgies and make more progress than the doctors ever figured was possible with her son. He has progressed from being someone who, though optimum vitamins, balancing of his diet, detoxing, heavy metal removal, etc (which was the starting point at age 25), who had at that time a forecast of being someone who would for the rest of his live have to live in a supervised residential setting, only be able to work in a supervised setting, never be able to drive, never be able to attend classes without a helper, and never be able to socialize enough to even have a girlfriend, to having his own regular apartment, having and keeping a full time job, driving everywhere he goes, being able to properly concentrate while attending university courses in the evenings without a helper, and even having a girlfriend. My sister is comfortable enought with his ability cope that she has been overseas with her husband for the past year, and her son is living on his own in the US. He is still not totally sympton free, but he is now able to properly cope with the world around him.

Along the way, my sister also began to use the devices (laser, scenar, cosmodic, and magnetic pulse device) on other problems that they said they would help, with results on each thing tried. Aches and pains were rapidly cleared up, broken bones healed properly and rapidly, lingering problems were prompted to begin healing again, and headache medicines was no longer needed. I don't think she's taken any medicines since starting with the devices. And she's helped friends with knee, back, shoulder, and other problems, and has even made more progress with a young cerebral palsy child than his parents had ever hoped for, and he is still slowly gaining some ground.

I was slow to get on board. Then, last August, when pushing my 9 year old daughter on an old metal merry-go-round, with the iron bars across the top, I got it to maxiumu speed and didn't get my hand out of the way soon enough, and a knuckle was hit by the next metal bar coming by. It was painful for a few days, but I ignored if for a couple weeks, and by the time I looked at it, the finger had been frozen in place, with only a 5 or 10 degree ROM (even on stretching), due to scar tissue which formed around the ligaments and tendons. I went to the doctors for a couple months, then got a referral to a hand specialist. The doctors had said they could do nothing. At that point I contacted my sister, and she indicated that a couple of the devices should definitely help, so I made the leap and ordered (since she was overseas, and her equipment was with her). About the time the equipment came in, I had my appointment with the hand specialist. He said that with extensive therapy they could help - no operations or medicaiton would do anything. He said it would be 9 months to a year of weekly stretching, casting, restretching, and recasting, followed by 6 weeks to 2 months in a cast to solidify the progress gained, then 3 to 6 months of physiotherapy to regain most of the abilty to contract again. I began the occupational therapy he suggested, but couldn't get in initially for a week. In interim, I began working with the devices I had gotten in (a laser for the swelling, and a cosmodic to help overcome the scar tissue). By the time I saw the therapist the first time, I had already regained an additional 30 degrees of movement - she couldn't believe it, but said to keep up whatever I was doing.

By the end of 5 weeks, when I was to see the doctor for a follow-up, I was basically where I would have been through their program in a year to a year and a half, and both the occupational therapist and the hand specialist discharged me from their care. By then I had between 85% and 90% of the flexibilty I previously had in the finger, and the only limitations remaining were due to the fact that within the first weeks after the injury, before seeing the hand specialist, the bone had added mass at the knuckle, limiting the ROM on extension. I'm hoping that eventually my body will also deal with this, but disolving of excess bone is something that takes time, if it occurs at all. In the process, I became fully convinced that the devices could help many conditions, and began learning all I could about the devices I had invested in, and where they could help my family and friends.

Along the way, I ran across some of the best materials out there, and also began looking for the most cost effective options available. And I began to look into options for my friend with the SCI. Given how he's been told over the years that there are no current options for him, I wanted to be careful and be sure that options were really there, not just an illusion.

I am now convinced, and I now have my friend beginning to try my small cosmodic - one without the fine tuning that the more expensive ones have, but still pure cosmodic and should be capable of everything the bigger units can do. If i were to order again, with what has come out since I bought the little unit, I would have gone with the next one up (the newest unit), with a higher resolution abitity to respond (so responses should be deeper and faster), silver electrods (which apparently help with the healing process), and magnets in the electrodes, for 300 euros more. But that being said, I suspect that even the unit my friend is trying now should begin to help. The inventor indicates that in Russia even the first generation Cosmodic, with its mixed signal, was something that could help with recovery in SCI situations. And I have a small laser on order for him, and as soon as it is in he's also going to begin trying that. It is an inexpensive basic little laser, one very close to the wave length used in the rat experiments where they accomplished regeneration of the spinal columns in the rats, and we're hoping for some progress there.

I've commented in a few headings - including the LLLT one, and the one on paralysis but not complete, and there is some extra info there. And there is also a question asking whether it is worth looking at other options.

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• By sheraphics
• Posted May 31, 2009 at 11:24 am
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How did you become so knowledgeable? My daughter has a C7 incomplete and is walking. In my heart, she improved so quickly, due persistency and being fortunate, I feel she has the potential to improve more. I feel I need to invest more time in finding options for her. It is hard working a couple of jobs, but I do not think I can forgive myself, if I do not do all I can to help....like a lot of you, finances are tough now which prohibits a lot of these alternative options.

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• By sheraphics
• Posted May 31, 2009 at 11:10 am
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Have you used these yourself? Have they improved your ability to walk?

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 30, 2009 at 1:38 am
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You might want to have a look at a section of an online reference area, sponsored by the Government of Icelanand, complied by Laurance Johnston, located at: http://www.sci-therapies.info/SYRINGOMYELIA.htm.
The description of Springomyelia seems close to how you describe the degeneration you appear to be having.

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 26, 2009 at 7:15 pm
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I re-read the background of your current status and noticed that a part of what you are working with is that several discs are gone in your back. For that part of your condition, it clearly sounds like there is a lot of hope. Dr. Irina Kossovoskaia (referrenced in some of the earlier materials) says that there have been a number of reported cases of disc regeneration from Russia (where she is from, and still has contacts in the medical, Scenar and Cosmodic community), using the Cosmodics to help trigger the body's natural healing process. She says that it is about a three month process. Over that time you want to avoid re-injury (if possible) to not delay the body's normal healing process.

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 24, 2009 at 3:00 am
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Truivia,

I hope I didn't overkill with details and options. I didn't intend initially to write as much as I did, but as I began to think about it, I realized that I couldn't just give you devices and prices.

The science and research that is behind healing light lasers is not understood by most doctors because it is not part of their training. If you want a local opinion on whether laser light might help, your best option is to call around and find a local therapist who uses laser light, and the sports therapists may be some of the best. I suspect that any good therapist will tell you that it can't hurt to try, and it might help. And from how you described how your situation has been deteriorating, you'll want to use whatever technology you try immediately after any potential minor re-injury situation to control any potential swelling, since swelling is a big factor in any damage caused by spinal cord injury / re-injury, and immediate control of swelling limits the chances of extra permanent damage. As a result, if you can self-treat immediately after any minor re-injury, you'll have more success than waiting to get in to see a therapist.

And what Scenars and Cosmodics can do is even more of a challenge to convey, since North America is far behind England and Europe in accepting the technology, and even England and Europe are years behind Russia. Hence all the detail.

The bottom line, I guess, is that any of the devices would probably help. If funds are short, probably the simplest starting point would be to go onto the Avazzai web site, pull off the forms, and see if you could at least get a prescription for one of the little Avazzai units to help control your pain. They have been FDA approved to help with pain relief, under a TENS type approval, though they are a lot more advanced than typical TENS. Then apply to your medical plan, or Medicare (whatever you're on) to see if they will cover most of the cost. If so, you'll have a tool that you can use which should help with those times of sharp pain, and with the imbedded alogrythms, there is a chance that it might help even stabilize the area. And a side benefit is that the signals the unit, if used properly, should help with controlling the swelling at re-injury times also.

If you are comfortable with the idea that trying laser light can't hurt, and might help, I suspect that it would be good to have some type of laser handy for those times when things go wrong and you feel you might have aggravated things. The therapists should confirm that lasers help control swelling and can speed healing.

Eventually, if you find the Avazzai unit helps (if you can get your medical plan to help with the expense), you might want to look at also getting some type of a Cosmodic device. The regeneration / recovery potential simply seems stronger with those. But first let the devices prove themselves for pain relief, where even the basic units have proven themselves. If you have no medical insurance and no Medicare, or they won't help with the expense, if you can come up with the funds, it might be worth going straight to a little Cosmodic like the PS705miniAg, since it should help with the intense pain, and has a good chance of also helping trigger the body to try to heal itselself, and work on regenerating as much as possible.

As mentioned in the last post, I wish you the best in whatever path you ultimately decide is appropriate for your life. And I hope I didn't overkill the subject for you.

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 23, 2009 at 3:04 pm
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A few other details to add on the Scenars and Cosmodics.

There are actually three different RITM home scenars, and they go under several different names. The Difference between them is the number of manually set frequency levels. The most basic has one manual and one modulation frequency setting, the next has two manual settings plus the modulation, the best has four settings plus the modulation. For the price difference, the one to go for is the one with four settings since the higest one is an extra one for controlling pain, and the lowest one is one to help stimulate recovery. The names I've seen them sold under are RITM Home Scenar, RITM Sports Scenar, and Pain Genie. They are all the same unit. As mentioned in the last post, the least expensive seems to be the ex-demo units sold under the Pain Genie label. Still good units, in good shape, and they come with a basic pain control training video, for 350 British pounds.

The Avazzai units are a bit more automated, and I understand that the design is one that would work better for someone with less flexibility. I understand they are more expensive than the Pain Genie ex-demo units, but as mentioned, often Medicare and many of the medical plans will pay for a large portion, sometimes making the net cost to the person as low as around $130. So both cost effective, and a more usable configuration for someone who is self treating and with more limited motion. And it apparently includes all the 1990 era RITM analogs. Because of the ease of use, I understand that many of the sports teams are using it for pain control, with the side effect of control of swelling, and speeding healing.

The Cosmodics are more advanced technology, the result of 15 years more research from the original designing engineer, designed for using on the body at points the body identifies as problem areas, to stimulate the body to work on these areas. And apparently the Russian doctors and thapists who have used, and other therapists etc who have reported results, have had deeper results and more regeneration from these. They work best on point specific use, with the device doing a high level of biofeedback and adjusting the signals to the body's needs. Because of the level of feedback, and the gentler approach, this would normally be my technology of choice for many problems.

Scenar works by being put on the skin, sending out a signal similar to the signal put out by the nerves, like a cry for help, then it waits for the body's response and tries to mimic it, giveing the body an amplified call to the body to help work on the area. The skin connectivity is called galvonic skin response. It is a genuine biofeedback device, giving the body signals, watching for responses, and modifying its responses accordingly. Scenar provokes, waits for a response, then modifies signals accordingly. While it works on acute problems, it is best at starting chronic problems moving again.

Cosmodic is similar, working on the skin also, and uses a similar electronic signal, but uses it as a carrier wave for an additional 46 resonances. But the carrier wave signal is a gentler signal, and it is not as aggressive. And it starts out differently. If left on its own, it starts out listening for the body's own signals to the area of the body, rather than provoking a response. It takes longer to get going, especially with chronic problems, and since it is a gentler nudging it may take a bit longer for immediate pain relief, but it seems to be more complete and longer lasting when it comes. For acute problems, with immediate pain and signals, it responds fast also, just treats in a gentler manner. And if nerves are involved, I would suspect that it is probably a bit more effective. As my 9 year daughter points out, though, the cosmodics (at least the little one) has a mind of its own. It may raise in intensity a bit when initially getting its bearings, or in response to specific signals of the body, but the results are well worth it.

There are actually several types of Cosmodic devices put out by LET Medical (the only manufacturer of Cosmodics). Quality control is good because the inventor apparenly hand tunes and checks each device himself. The oldest of the group came out in 2002, has a mixed Scenar and Cosmodic signal, and is the most aggressive unit for its signals. Because of the more aggressive signal, plus the listening abilty, it is what LET Medical suggests as the unit to use for working on atrophied muscles. The next in age (the Cosmodic EX715) (2550 Euros - approx $3550 US), released in 2005, was the first unit to have a pure cosmodic signal, and it was a high resolution listening unit with a digital read-out to help identify areas to treat. The next series was released in 2006, the cosmodic PS705 and the cosmodic PS705mini - same chip for both, just a difference in size of batteries, unit size, electrode size, and the mini doesn't have a plug for external electrods. These are true cosmodic but the signal is apparently not as refined and doesn't have the same resolution as the EX715, so it takes longer to get detailed responses than with the 715. Then in 2007 the EX715 was released, which had the same technology as the 715, but even more robust in approach, and it was a dual mode machine where it could switch back and forth between pure cosmodic and pure scenar, and could work either automatic or manual, and could be set with gentle settings for children and very sensitive areas. The final units, just released in 2009, are the PS705miniAg. This unit, according to Dr. Karasev (the inventor), actually has a 715 chip in it (with the more refined signals), has silver electrodes with embedded magnets etc. It seems to be the ulitmate little personal device. It is the same size as the regular PS705mini, but has a deeper and faster interaction. It doesn't have any read-outs and is small for holding by a therapist, but easy for individuals to have with them and to use in any setting.

For devices, if the budget allows it, the top of the line Cosmodic unit, the EX735Ag Modific is probably the most robust and most beneficial for an all around device, but the price is stiff at around $6100 for the normal price, before any surcharges. The best and most cost effective option for most people is still not cheap, is the PS705miniAg. It is a lot more affordable, and offers most of the same benefits and the same refinement of signals, and the normal price, before surcharges, is only around $1365 US. I use the earlier, PS705mini, with the less refined signal, and it has worked well on a number of problems. And it is easy to simply strap on with some of the inexpensive elastic straps available, and I just let it sit there and do its work.

Now for sources and information about the Cosmodic devices.

LET Medical's web site is at http://scenar.ru/en/. They describe the devices available, show the list pricing, have a lot of information on the technology, they have probably 60 articles there, and they have a FAQ and a forum where questions can be posted about the technology and various issues, and people can respond. One of the articles, by a Russian doctor, may be of interest with regard to the effectiveness of controlling swelling etc for spinal cord injuries: http://www.scenar-therapy.com/publications/neck/. You can buy directly from them, but it is not the easiest process, since they only accept payment by bank transfers, and only ship to North Americal by UPS (which charges $160 for the shipping).

The next place is the major North American distributor, who also includes a lot of training and support and a lot of on-line training materials, both to explain the devices, and help explain how to use them. The benefit of their company is their trainign and support. They have several web sites, and the owner of the company is a former Russian eye surgeon who left traditional medicine because of the effectiveness of Scenar technology. She is a testimony of the effectiveness of Scenar type technology. Her primary web site is www.truescenar.com. An associated site is http://www.laserscenarfusion.com/. She has some short videos on the site explaining how she got involved in the technology and some of its history, she has a lot of articles about Cosmodic.

Look at a lot of the materials on the sites, and the videos, for a background. Also, under Training, Dr. Irina and her partner have a training session on the more advanced and simple true scenar device, the by the English name of the DOVE (also known as the Myoscen035M in Russian). It is a good little true and automated scenar, but at what they sell it for ($1895 US), it is pricy, and for the average person with problems that can use regeneration, for the price it is better to go with a true Cosmodic device. The DOVE is good for things that need immediate attention, like the RITM home device and the Avazzai. It has better automation than these, but I haven't gone through this because, from a cost standpoint, I'm not sure that the benfits are that much greater than their competition, and to date they have not qualified for funding by insurers (the benefit of the Avazzai).

The benefit of their company is that Dr. Irina and her partner have some great training materials. But pricing is higher. On the least expensive unit, her pricing seems to be around $500 or so above the price listed on the LET Medical site, and on the most expensive one, it seems to be around $1000 more.

The least expensive source for the LET Medical devices is from the Ukranian distributor for LET Medical. They sell for LET Medical's advertised prices (no mark-up). They take payment by PayPal, plus several other sources, avoiding the need for doing bank money transfers (which often cost around $100 do do), and they include shipping costs to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, shipping via a Canadian company that services the Ukranian community worldwide, http://meest.net, avoiding the $160 UPS costs (there is a nominal shipping from there, but costs from Toronto are a lot less than from Russia or the Ukrane). They operate using two web addresses:
http://www.scenarshop.com and http://scenar-cosmodic.com
Their two email addresses are: info@scenarshop.com and info@scenar-cosmodic.com
It sounds like they may also be able to handle the Myoscen035 in the near future, and if so, I suspect that their price will probably be around $900 or $950 for that device (same unit as the DOVE, but just under a Russian label, and at about half of what the DOVE sells for in North America, suddenly making it an option to consider if someone is looking for a true Scenar unit, since it seems to be more automated, and have a more accurate signal, than the others - picture on the LET Medical history site, probably around 2006).

That's basically it for the information on Scenar and Cosmodic pricing. Hope it gives you some ideas and things to consider.

Good luck in your choices. I think there are some good options out there. The challenge is simply deciding what can work the best for you, and figuring out how to be able to afford the technology. I suspect that, once you start using this technology, you will need less pain medication, and your flexibility will improve and things that constrain you will decrease. I've seen this happen with other conditions, and there is no reason the same results should not occur with what you described.

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 23, 2009 at 4:02 am
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The other type of devices that I've used with friends, on other types of problems, to control pain and inflamation are the Scenars and Cosmodics. Both of these are Russian made devices that were actually developed through funding from the USSR space program in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. I'll give the basic background because it helps explain the situation with the different devices out there.

SCENAR is an acronym for Self Controlled Energo Neuro Adapative Reactor. It started with many of the principles of portions of eastern medicine, including some of the ideas from acupuncture, etc, and simply began applying electricity to the body to help trigger the body to recovery. The technology started with the basic Russian version of the TENS in 1973, and while it often helped, it often was simply short term relief, and TENS uses a very primitive square electronic wave, and basically only stimulated A fiber nerves. Scenar technology studied the body's nerve wave signals and attempted to copy those. Because of the difference in the wave signals, the signals were able to get to the body's C fiber nerves. The C fiber nerves are the deeper nerves, and when stimulated they stimulate the creation of endorphins - the body's natural pain killers. Endorphins are also are one of the body's triggers for calling the body's attention to areas that need the body's attention. Those who teach the use of Scenar, also point out that for chronic problems (ones that linger on and don't heal), the body tends to form an invisible barrier around the area and, as much as possible, tends to ignore the area. Scenars, with their nerve signal like signals, can call the body's attention to those areas again, and get the body to attempt to help heal those areas. And using the devices on areas of pain help the body quickly work through the issues present, and in the process helps reduce muscle tightness and associated swelling and pain.

When the Scenars were under development, the Solviets were looking for basically a device that they could send with their Cosmonauts that would avoid the need for drugs in space, both because drugs pollute the water that gets recycled, and because there is a lot of weight in bringing a complete pharmacy with you. As well, they were looking for something which could be used for a large number of problems and would not take all types of diagnostic equipment, which occupied both weight and space. When the USSR began to disintegrat, and funding dried up, the scientists who were working on the project were allowed to take what they developed with them and continue the development on their own. As a result, Dr. Revenko (a top neurologist who had been working on the project and developed the treatment techniques), Dr. Karasev (the engineer who actually invented Scenar technology, and before that, the Russian version of the TENS machine), and several others started a company called RITM. RITM continued the research and eventually came up with the initial public release versions of Scenar technology, and got approval for use in the Russian hospitals, etc. By 1990 they had developed a very workable technology, although much of the success at the time depended on the skill of the technician using the device.

In 1990, Dr. Karaseve went on his own and left RITM. RITM went on to tweak the original scenars slightly, and they claim that they have carried forward the advancements on those original technicians, but therapists who use it indicate that, although there are some extra features, and some more automation, it is basically the same technology as existed around the time Dr. Karasev left in 1990. RITM along the way partnered with several companies. Denas basically used late 1980's technology (which was even before the split), and other companies either partnered (and got), or were sold, the 1990's technology. And RITM went on to get CE approval in Europe, and FDA approval for pain relief in the US.

While RITM has their professional devices, these take a lot of training to do much with beyond the basics. And they have a good basic home device that uses the same underlying frequencies and alogrythms what make the professional units work. While the most recent home version was released within the last few years, the underlying technology is basically 1990's technology. There are some manual settings needed, but with just a bit of attention to some basic training they provide (both by book and video), it is pretty easy for most folks to learn how to use it for pain relief, and it works. I've got a friend who formerly had a major migrane every week, as well as other major pain issues. He hasn't had a migrane since he started to use it about 3 months ago, and his regular headaches regular muscle aches have been less severe. Another friend, with a vertebrae in his back that is badly degenerated, who had significant pain which prevented him from doing much, now has less pain and is able to do more in his daily life, all by promptly using the scenar on his back any time it starts acting up.

There are three locations that the home units are apparenlty manufactured. The one with the most consistently high quality apparenlty is the plant in Holland, which operates under the name RITMedic. There is a plant in Russia which does a reasonable job of quality control, but apparenlty not as good as the Holland plant. And a plant in China, which has had some issues, and I've heard they anywhere up to a 50% failure rate (and many of the units sold on EBay under the Chens 01 label apparenlty come from that line). The unit varies in price depending on where you get it from, and prices start at about 350 British pounds (for a demo unit from www.paingenie.net - and this unit comes off of the line in Holland), and go up to $1200. From what I've seen, the Pain Genie version seems to be the best deal on the RITM home units, and they seem to work well. To find these, go to the Pain Genie site an simply click on "ex-demo units". The disadvantage of the units is that they have an angle where they work best when held by someone else, and they are a bit more akward to work on your own back, even if you have full flexibilty, Also, effectiveness with these devices is in part related to motion, and if someone has more limitations, that extra motion to get the relief could be a challenge.

One device that I've heard of, which I understand is basically the same technology as the RITM units, but doesn't make claims to being a Scenar, is the Avazzai. They apparenlty purchased the right to use the RITM technology, so all the alogrythms are included. The device is made by Texas Instruments, and has been made more automated than the regular RITM units. It has been approved by the FDA for use in pain control, and the big advantage of this unit is that many insurance companies will consider paying for it, as does Medicare, so the ultimate out of pocket cost is fairly low. For more information on this, go to their web site at: http://www.avazzia.com/.

There are other francisee type manufacturers, some which operate with the older late 1980s technology (like Denas), and others that operate with basic early 1990s technology, but I don't know enough about any of the others to know if they have smaller home units that are effective, or what they would be effective for. And the RITM line seems to be the proven line of traditional scenar.

My favorite units are those produced by the original inventor, Dr. Karasev, who has carried forward his reseach and made a number of advancements since 1990, and his company is LET Medical. He now calls his technology Cosmodic. His devices have reportedly been more effective in stimulating the body toward regeneration, they are much more automated, and are much more gentle in their approach. And the best thing about them is that you simply put the device in the place with the problem and it goes to work. These devices have a basic Scenar signal as the carrier wave, and they carry 46 resonances. It listens for the body's activity and will adapt its response to what the body is saying.

His higher end units have got a lot of potential, but the price is also up there, with a list price of 4380 Euros (just over $6,100 US), before any US dealer mark-ups (which can be as high as $1000 extra). But they can do a lot. I have one of their basic personal units (the PS705mini), which lists for 650 Euros (about $900 US), which seems to help with many problems and aches and pains, and helped a friend begin improving from carpel tunnel related inflamation. The unit that impresses me, though, is their newest personal device, the PS705miniAG. This one has an updated operating chip (the 715 chip), so it has a more refined signal than the unit I have, it has siler electrodes (which are supposed to help), and also has built in magnets, which are also supposed to help. It is both small and flat, so it can be easily put behind your back and it will stay there. That unit lists for 980 Euros (about $1365 US).

Their devices are approved for use in the Russian hospitals, but to my knowledge, they don't have formal approval in other jurisdictions, so the chance of getting funding from insurance plans, etc, is remote at best. And buying the devices from North America can have some challenges. The primary North American distributor is Mediscen. It sounds like their price is about $1500 for the little unit I have, and more of course for the newest Ag version. But they provide training and support as part of this price. You can buy direct from LET Medical but they only accept payment by bank draft, and they only ship to North America by UPS, and North American shipment is $160 US. The most cost effective method to get LET Medical devices is to buy from their Ukranian distributor, who accepts Paypal and several other payment options, and ships by a special shipping company which operates out of Toronto, and services the Ukranian community worldwide. The Ukranian distributor covers the shipping cost to Toronto, and the purchaser is responsible for shipping from there. But they are not able to supply a lot of support. The device is simple enough so, for most people, they should be able to use without a lot of training, You simply place it in the place that hurts, or has its issues, and let it do its work. And some materials are available on the internet, etc. that will provide extra ideas. Too late tonight to dig up the reference sites, but I'll post those later.

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 22, 2009 at 6:28 pm
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The first units I'll go through are lasers. I'll give you some background because it will help to understand the options.

Lasers work to add energy to the cells, which helps with recovery, and they help increse micro-cirulation to the area, and improve lymph drainage. As a result, they help reduce control and reduce swelling. And because of that, they help speed healing. That's why, for example, the example of the small bear who fell out of a tree, his hind legs were paralyzed, and was treated with a laser within hours afterward, made a fast recovery and had no residual problems (see the LLLT discussion for a link to the video on that). Lasers vary substantially in price and can vary in effectiveness.

You'll see lots of types of lasers. There are cutting lasers (like they use to cut steel and for surgery) - I understand these are classed as Class 4 lasers (or maybe even higher). These are not healing lasers and will not be discussed.

The next are the types of lasers used in various healing related applications, often called healing lasers or healing lights.

One is very low wattage (often only 5 miliwatt), which have little penetration (there is a high energy loss as the laser waves go into your body) and are only good for surface injuries, and take a long time to have much in the line of results because of the time it takes to get enought energy to the cells to do any good. These are Class 1 type lasers. This is the type of laser you'll see in the supermarket checkouts, and they are also used for cosmotology purposes, and for very shallow surface injuries, burns, etc. Although it is not recommended, if you briefly look into these, it won't hurt your eyes (like briefly looking at the sun).

The second are higher wattage (still considered Low Level because they are no higher than 500 milliwat), and they are often used for deeper results, used because of the fact that they send out a lot of extra energy to overcome the energy loss. These are class 3 lasers, and depending on the power output, they are either class 3A (i.e. the lasers that are around the 50 miliwatt output level) or class 3B (those in the hundreds of miliwats). Because of the intensity of the lasers it is not safe to look directly into them even for brief periods of time, and with many wave lenghts, you can't even see they are on because the light is at a non-visible range (but could still hurt your eyes). It is safer to use these with special goggles to avoid eye damage. Because of the power output, these are called "stimulating lasers". The reason many therapists and manufacturers have gone to these is because, as the laser rays enter the body, there is a rapid drop off of energy penetration. For example, one of the rat studies indicated that only 6% of the energy from the laser used actually made it to the spine where the injury was present. This is the range that most of the veterinary and human lasers operate.

The third type out there is the resonating laser with soliton wave technology. This is a low wattage laser (it uses the same 5 miliwatt laser diodes as the very low wattage lasers), but it has computer sync'ed the output of the laser diodes so they create soliton waves. Soliton waves are created when multiple waves come together at just the right moment and create super waves. In the ocean, this is the what causes tsunami's. Soliton waves lose very little energy when going though the body, so they have a lot higher penetration, and the percentage of the energy that actually penetrates to where it is needed is much higher. The end result is that you don't need the same power to get the results.

Why is the amount of power important? That is probably the big question. It seems to have something to do with the cells getting enough energy to do the job necessary. But at the same time you don't want to overload the cells, because when you pass a certain point, you stall the potential beneficial effects. The way I heard it described, it is like a bell curve. When going up in energy used, the benefits increase, to the point where maximum benefit is received. If energy keeps getting input, you start going downhill, with decreasing benefits, until you are at a point when you are back to no benefit added and you have to take some time off to give the body a chance to recoup and work on its healing. For normal cells (both plants and typical muscle cells, etc), it appears that the maximum has been shown to be about 8 joules of energy for any cubic centemeter, and it sounds like the safe spot, with optimum benefits, may be about half of that. Since the more powerful lasers put out the energy they do, you quickly get to that maximum point, especially if you are looking at the muscles between the point of injury and the skin, so you need to watch the time used. If you are looking at a joint, the amount of energy it can take is a lot higher. I suspect that for healing of muscles and exposed nerves, it is probably better to keep it to the flesh type dosage levels.

Now to get to my suggestions, based on everything I've seen to date.

You can find a number of the 5 mw lasers on the market, but unless you have lots of time, and are simply going to work on acupressure points with them, I suspect you would be disappointed with these, and although some of these start under $100, you would not be happy with the results.

The next category - the higher wattage low level lasers, are the type used by most therapists, and also which were used on the spinal studies involving rats and other animals. These are also what are typically used by the veterinarians and those who are involved with hores racing, etc. Most of the units used by the therapists are outside the average individual's price range, with most starting at around $15,000, although there are some lower priced semi-professional version for around $3,500, and some ex-demo units available for around $2000 (the site that has the most price effective of these that I've seen seems to be: http://www.ipl-systems.com/productslaser3000clinical.htm).

And then there is one unit that looks like it would be my choice for a portable, inexpensive, user friendly unit. It sells for $525 US plus S&H, and includes a number of materials. It has three - 200 mw laser diodes, meaning you can treat an area like your back quicly. The only thing you might want to consider extra is a pair of safety goggles that can prevent accidental eye damage. It is sold for veterinary use, but muscle and spinal problems with people are basically the same, and if it will work on a horse, it should work on a person. The site for that unit is http://www.vetrolaser.com/. With the wattage, you simply need to watch the time, since you probably will be at your maximum soft tissue energy limit in just a few minutes. For deeper stimulation (joints, etc), you could go longer. It is very portable - the size of a flashlight. Because it is a simple device, though, it does not include the computerized adjustments to reflect battery decline, so you'll want to use some good NIMH batteries, and keep them charged to the upper half of their charge to maintain maximum effectiveness.

The other option, if your budget allows more flexibility, is the only low level resonating laser I know of out there. But it is more expensive. Not as expensive as the commercial units, but still pricy enough, and it hasn't come down since it came on the market 5 or 6 years ago. That is the Q1000 (its little brother, the Q10, only has 1/3 the output, so for not suggested for back injuries, etc). That one, though, has been used for a lot of things beyond normal injuries. This is actually the main laser I use, and it is one that you can use for a much longer time without fear of overloading the system. It can be used like the very low level lasers (for skin and surface mucle injuries), but has also had success for depression and other unique situations. For example, over 5 years ago, it was the turning point for my nephew, who was high level autistic. It helped calm down his brain and bring some congruety there, and helped him make some major progress so how he's actually able to hold a job, live on his own (unsupervised), and he even has a girlfriend. And it apparenty has helped with depression, energy, etc.

The disadvantage is that the cost everywhere I've checked is $3,800 US plus S&H, and the price hasn't dropped over the years. I haven't foudn a place selling for less, probably because they are the only laser out there with this combination, and they are sinking a lot of money into FDA studies and woring on getting FDA approvals. They recenty received FDA approval for over the counter treating osteoarthritis of the wrist, and are working on other approvals. This is one of the lases made in the US, made in South Dakota. Since price doesn't vary on the units, the thing to look for there is extras they include when you purchase one. The best package of extras I've seen is through Soft Lasr Associates (http://www.gardenwithin.net/) and their associated companies. They have probably the best support system out there, include all 7 modes programmed (other dealers sell with only 3 modes included, and they charge $250 per extra mode), and they include a lot of training material for how to optimize your use of the laser.

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• By truivia
• Posted May 22, 2009 at 2:21 pm
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thanks again to everyone :)

sure learning - I am open to ideas

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 22, 2009 at 2:18 pm
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I've heard that with some conditions it is difficult at times to totally avoid situations where aggravation can occur.

So until you can get your your back stabilized (and keep checking with the specialists until they either can stabilize for you, or can explain why it is not yet possible, or why the risk attempting stabilization is higher than the risk from not stabilizing), you may want to look at controlling what you can. You may not be able to completely eliminate the situations where aggravation occurs, but you should be able to control or prevent much of the inflamation which occurs as a result.

Even basic hand held lasers (if they have enough power) can help control inflamation and help with healing. And basic Scenars and Cosmodics have helped control inflamation and help trigger what healing was possible for other types of injuries. Thre are no side effects (unlike most drugs) from using these (as long as used IAW very simple basics), and they help control inflamation and help with healing in a lot of situations. These are options, though they often are ones outside what traditional doctors are trained in or familair with.

If you are interested, I can give a rundown on what seem to be the cost effective ones out there that I've seen (since for most with SCI, funds are quite limited).

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• By horsestail
• Posted May 22, 2009 at 8:14 am
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I can walk too. I have had injury to L4/L5 and L5/S1 and though I can walk I use a chair too, but also a walker with a seat and a cane depending on what I am doing. I am somewhat like you where I have issues after sitting too long. I have to put my feet up or lay down. I think it is something to do with circulation that causes my problems, but just know what I need to do to make my life better for me.
I believe that you should get a second opinion and like was said from someone outside of the group where you have gone. Check out your university hospital. I found my hero at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He is a neurologist specialist and recognized my needs and sent me to a neurosurgeon specialist who with his talented hands saved what I had and actually gave me some bonus of my inner thigh feeling returning after 18 months compression to the cauda equina.
My diagnosis was cauda equina syndrome.
I wish you the best,

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• By truivia
• Posted May 22, 2009 at 1:32 am
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"is to control or prevent swelling in those situations where excess movement, movement the wrong way, etc, might aggravate a tender or sensitive area."

Yes - spot on correct ! That is the goal with me currently.

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 20, 2009 at 12:57 pm
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Truvia's comments, and those by Janders199, about the pain, the intensity, and how it comes, reminded me of a couple things.

Dr. Irina Kossovoskaia mentioned some of the energy field photographs that were taken of amputees. The energy fields still showed where the missing limbs would have been, even though there was no limb present. Dr. Kossovoskaia is a former Russian eye surgeon, who eventually left behind traditional medicine and went into energy medicine, focussing on Scenar / Cosmodic and some laser, after her son completely recovered from Turretts Syndrome, which he'd had and symptons kept getting worse for a period of 7 years. The Russians, using Scenar technology and treatment techniques, treating the symetrical (opposite) side, have apparently had some success helping with the phantom pain amputees have experienced.

The thought this sparks is that, if the technology helps with phantom pain for amputees, and helps with the real pain situations that it clearly helps with (even basic 1990's technology machines have been proven to help with that, and have CE approval in England and Europe for pain relief, and a few scenar type units even have FDA approval for help with pain relief), they should help with reducing or controlling pain with SCI injuries also.

Both Scenar and Laser have been shown to help reduce swelling, which is probably a factor behind deterioration of spinal cord situations. It is the swelling which causes a great deal of the nerve injury damage following a SCI injury. Hence the success stories where they are able to control the swelling (whether with drugs, laser, scenar, or other methods) shortly after significant SCIs (one is related under the LLLT discussion). The problem is that the spinal cord is a confined area, and any swelling tends to strangle the nerves in the area.

Thinking about this, one thing that might help Truvia, and others like her, prevent further degeneration is to control or prevent swelling in those situations where excess movement, movement the wrong way, etc, might aggravate a tender or sensitive area. Immediate use of a tool that helps trigger the body to control the swelling should help limit or prevent the damage the swelling would cause. I know that the technique has worked with regular pulled muscle situations to quickly overcome the problems and avoid the stiffening and muscle splinting which would otherwise occur (which seems to be caused by muscle swelling, and would cause even more problems if it was in a confined area like the spinal column).

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• By pdecrease
• Posted May 20, 2009 at 6:55 am
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Well said!

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• By Learning1
• Posted May 18, 2009 at 1:38 pm
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I wish the technologies (laser and scenar) were available for you to try. I can't help but feel that there would be some help in getting the body to both help heal situations and in pain relief. There are a few therapists using in some areas, but still pretty limited, and most who are using are using much more expensive, and generally more limited, units. From what I've seen them do in other situations, and the few situations I've heard of them being used properly with, it sounds like there is a great deal of potential available, both in helping control pain, and even in helping the stimulate the body to reach the optimum healing it can do. See my comments in the LLLT discussion.

There seems to be two elements with progress, and both seem connected. One is the the body's natural ability to heal and deal with its internal healing and related issues. They say that almost a third of all progress in healing, no matter how it is done, is in the realm that cannot be explained, and some doctors and researchers attribute to the "placebo effect", but probably goes much deeper than that. The other is providing the body the tools it needs to progress and heal itself, and to prompt it to trigger natural recovery processes. That is what devices like laser and scenar seem to do - they actually overcome points where the body stops trying to heal itself and gets the body started trying to fix itself again. Physics gets into some of the principles better than medicine. Damaged cells lose energy, and when that energy is restored, the cells are in a better postion to deal with issues present. The studies with rats, etc, show that this is not just mental or placebo effect, since the rats (and other test animals) don't have the same thought processes, yet respond anyway.

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• By truivia
• Posted May 18, 2009 at 1:26 pm
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Jim - your stronger then I am. When the ice pick ( very good description ) hits me, I do yell out. I am not sure if it is something I could hold in, the pain is so intense. Like you, I never know what will bring it on, sometimes nothing brings it on - just breathing ya know.

You each HAVE been a huge help to me and DO greatly appreciate the support. Thank You ♥

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• By janders199
• Posted May 18, 2009 at 8:32 am
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I'm sorry, I guess I just don't understand. I am in constant pain, 24/7, throbing, ice pick like surprise hits. I never know when one ice pick hit will come, could be in the middle of a conversation with a loved one and I don't want to reveal the pain I am in or no one will want to be around me. I wish I could walk again, but I can't. I wish you weren't in pain. But I don't know what else to tell you except take the chair and continue to research for the right answer. Love, Jim

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• By truivia
• Posted May 18, 2009 at 1:45 am
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Quoted - "The implication from Truvia was that she may have a situation present that is further damage or deterioration waiting to happen."

That is correct - the further damage and the pain levels.

Bestgurl - that is very good advice! Thank You :)

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