March 2014
The Business of Pain - The Science of Suffering
"Electronic Signalling Technology Will Change the Future of Medicine"
By: Dr. John Hache
Chronic pain
affects an estimated 116 million American adults—more than the total affected by heart disease, cancer, and
diabetes combined. Pain also costs the nation up to $635 billion each year in medical treatment and lost
productivity.
In late 2000, Congress declared 2001 to 2010 as the "Decade of Pain Control
and Research." This attention generated research and significant evidence about effective pain assessment and
management strategies.2 But this increased focus on pain assessment has not necessarily improved the
management of pain in older adults. In fact Pharmaceutical Companies
have taken advantage of the situation to fuel a boom in opioids that has no precedence and has left everybody with
a deep concern – Was the industry trying to fill a need that was seen by physicians or did the Pharmaceutical
Industry choose profits over patient safety? The fact is over the past
decade as many as 100,000 Americans have died from opioid overdoses and millions have become addicted to the drugs
according to Andrew Kolodny, MD, a New York psychiatrist and opioid addiction specialist who co-founded Physicians
for Responsible Opioid Prescribing. The other vital question that must
be answered is “are there any alternatives to the existant pain meds and narcotic drugs?
The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
required the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enlist the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in examining
pain as a public health problem. Acting through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), HHS asked the IOM to
assess the state of the science regarding pain research, care, and education and to make recommendations to advance
the field. (Institute of Medicine of the Academies – Report Brief June
2011)
Worldwide Pain Management Market to reach 43.2 Billion Dollars by 2010
– (Global Industry Analysts.)
Opiate drugs make up the largest monetary portion of the pain
management market though there is a tendency to supplement the narcotic prescription with NSAIDs to potentate the
analgesic effect of narcotics such as Ibuprofen/Oxycodone. Drugs.com
report that this combination may cause an increased risk of serious and sometimes fatal heart and blood vessel
problems (eg, heart attack, stroke). Ibuprofen/Oxycodone may cause an
increased risk of serious and sometimes fatal stomach ulcers and bleeding. Elderly patients may be at greater risk.
This may occur without warning signs. In the light of this
information, Physicians must refrain from following Pharmaceutical guidelines and spend the time necessary to
evaluate the risks for their patients. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Med Page today, February Issue -
Prescriptions for narcotic painkillers soared so much over the last decade that by 2010 enough were being dispensed
to medicate every adult in the U.S. around the clock for a month.
Fuelling that surge was a network of pain organizations, doctors and Researchers that pushed for expanded use of
the drugs while taking in millions of dollars from the very companies that made them, a Journal Sentinel/Med Page
Today investigation found.
(Nov. 1, 2011 – Every day, 40 Americans die from prescription painkiller
abuse, the CDC says)
Therefore
trust the Physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility (The Prophet – Kalil
Gibran)
So what is the State of the Science regarding pain intervention? If we
look at the decade of 2001 to 2010, the Science is not good as doing more of the same thing is destined for failure
at the end of the next decade as well. This will be compounded by
factors such as growing consumer demand, an increase in people aged over 65 and no new miracle drugs that offer any
form of cure.
The Scope of the Problem
Chronic or persistent pain is described as a personal emotional and physical experience. This pain is an
unpleasant, subjective and multifaceted experience that ranges from mild discomfort to agony; the frequency may be
periodic, persistent or always present. Persistent pain continues beyond the anticipated healing time of acute pain
caused by injury or disease and lasts for at least 3 months and may go on for years.
Incidence
Persistent pain affects approximately 76 million U.S. residents - more than diabetes (23.6 million), heart disease
(23.3 million) and cancer (11 million) combined.1,5,6 Older adults experience a large proportion of the
persistent pain burden. More than 27 million U.S. residents, or 33% of older adults, experience pain from
osteoarthritis alone.7 An estimated 25% to 50% of older adults living in the community experience
significant pain at least some of the time.5 Between 44% and 80% of nursing home residents experience
persistent pain.5
Breaking with Tradition
Our approach to pain has been a resounding failure, as much as our fight against Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes
and thousands of other debilitating diseases. It has not been until
lately that we have started to understand our enemy. Pain itself is
only a symptom of something much more furtive and sinister – inflammation. And inflammation though considered by many to be an essential part of healing may
itself be totally misunderstood even though we have always understood the basic mechanism of it.
Dolor Dictat
.
The need for pain reduction has gotten us to do and to accept some pretty silly and dangerous approaches without
really comprehending the adverse and long term effects involved. Pain can control your life but traditional
pharmaceutically based medical approaches can and are killing people.
Pharmaceutical approaches to pain border on the fringe of patient exploitation and abuse of the powers that have
been loaned to them. The liberalization of addictive opioid drugs has
had some pretty serious backing over the last decade motivated by huge monetary gifts from the drug
manufacturers. The following national organizations have used
positions, statements, guidelines, books, and doctor education courses to set the stage for the growing use of
opioid drugs in treating persistent pain.
·
UW Pain & Policies Studies Group
- From 1999 trough 2010, got $2.5 million
·
American Pain Foundation
- undisclosed millions from Industry including opioid.
·
American Academy of Pain Medicine -
Last year $1.5 million from pharma for their endorsement
·
American Pain Society
- in the last two years $1.6 million for their endorsement of opioids(16)
·
Federation of State Medical Boards
- undisclosed amount from opioid companies for a book on opioid prescribing (1998 - book updated in
2004).
By 2010 and compared to the previous year with the help of the above, pharmaceutical firms were selling four times
as many prescription painkillers to pharmacies, doctor's offices and hospitals. Never in the history of medicine have so many people been exposed to so much
drug.
Even migraine sufferers have become a target for
opioids. It is known that migraine sufferers represent
approximately 10% of the American population and although Medical Science is on the verge of a cure using
electronic signalling, this affliction is far from being understood by physicians. "the history of treatments for migraine is largely a story of medical
"overkill" and patient exploitation" (Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author of the book Migraine.)
Low Level Inflammation
Of the ten leading causes
of mortality in the United States, chronic, low-level inflammation
contributes to the pathogenesis of at least seven. These include heart disease, cancer, chronic lower
respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and nephritis(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2011;
Bastard et al. 2006; Cao 2011, Jha et al. 2009; Ferrucci et al. 2010; Glorieux et al. 2009; Kundu et al. 2008;
Murphy 2012; Singh et al. 2011).
As future studies solidify the association between inflammatory mediators and different diseases, early detection
of cytokine aberrations and anti-inflammatory therapy to reduce disease risk may gain more mainstream
acceptance.
Medicine’s Current Anti-Inflammatory Choices
NSAIDs, Steroids and Cox inhibitors have long been the anti-inflammatory medication of choice. Yet the value in promoting cure vs a long list of side effects is very
controversial. It has even been found that anti-inflammatory drugs directly interfere with healing.
(Reynolds
JF, Noakes TD, Schweellnus MP, Windt A, Bowebank P. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs fail to enhance
healing of acute hamstring injuries treated with physiotherapy S African Med J 1995:
85:517-527)
Electronic Pain Relief
Electricity has continuously been a powerful tool in medicine for thousands of years. All medical professionals are, to some degree, aware of electrotherapy, those who
directly use electricity for treatments know of its anti-inflammatory effects. The latest technology to be introduced to the world comes as a digitally
produced computer controlled
sinusoidal damped electronic signal using micro current through a reflex biofeedback loop. The posted results are a
long lasting anti-inflammatory effect considered to be more powerful than narcotics without the expensive, life
changing dangerous side effects. “The principles of physics have been largely de-emphasized in modern medicine in
favour of chemistry. These electrical treatments, a familiar
application of physics, thus represent powerful and appropriate elements of physicians pain care armamentaria in
the clinic and possibly for prescription for use at home to improve overall patient care and maintenance of quality
of life via low-risk and potentially curative treatments.” (Pain
Physician 2008; 11:6:891-907)
This would correspond in essence to the comprehensive strategy put forth in a blueprint for action posted by the
Institute of Medicine of the Americas dated June 2011 as Electronic Signalling devices target the point of pain and
the biofeedback loop corrects the brains erroneous need to produce pain. Just this information could potentially cancel out the need for NSAID/Narcotic
combinations.
Many Advantages
Electronic signalling better known as Biofeedback Electo Stimulation Technology is multi faceted and accomplishes
many complex jobs. Because inflammation involves more than pain but
also includes heat, swelling, redness and a reduction in range of motion, a proper approach would be technology
that addresses all five of these well known pillars. Research on
Electro Stimulation Therapy proves routine neurological, physiological and psychological
benefits. Research in this field has repeatedly proven better
physiological repair in far less time, while indicating absolutely no adverse reactions.
Inflammation and Chronic Inflammatory Disease
One of the most revealing Science based research projects in the medical field is on inflammation
which seems to be the precursor to most known medical conditions that affect all biological models, animal or
human. In fact it is the culprit behind almost every chronic
illness. Research on type I Diabetes completed in a Toronto
Ontario hospital has confirmed that inflammation is also at play in this disease. Or at least, is definitely a
contributing factor until all of the information comes back to prove otherwise.
The second concept is in the fact that free electrons are able to neutralize inflammatory free
radicals is based on long-standing understandings of the nature of free radicals and their involvement in
inflammatory processes.
There are many scientific articles that suggest that free or mobile electrons within the body can
also serve as antioxidants when they are available in sufficient quantity. That free radicals act as
electrophiles attracting free or mobile electrons. That these free
electrons can be delivered via micro current high voltage devices such previously described, opens a world of possibility to many people who suffer from inflammation based
diseases.
Biomedical research from around the world is revealing that chronic or "silent"
inflammation is the culprit behind nearly every chronic disease (Oschman,
2007).
Inflammation is summarized as a localized response to trauma and infection that can wall off damaged tissues
until the immune system removes foreign matter, damaged cells and/or bacteria. When the inflammatory response
does not completely wind down, palpable inflammatory pockets can persist for many years, slowly releasing toxins
that can damage organs anywhere in the body. The phenomenon was
described by the famous stress researcher, Hans Selye (1956) in his book, "The Stress of Life" and in various
articles published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (e.g. Selye,
1953) and other periodicals. A search of Pub Med revealed 1082 references to the inflammatory pouch with
some specifically referring to "the Selye Pouch", for the study of
inflammatory reactions (e.g. Davis et al., 1981). Selye's work tied inflammatory responses to stress, cortisol secretion and
adaptation. Selye and others had obtained information that necrotic
tissue breakdown products from inflammatory pockets can leak into the blood and lymphatic circulation producing
slow but progressive atrophy in various organs a distance from the original site of
trauma.
This inflammatory pouch concept explains how local pockets of inflammation can trigger a
diversity of chronic diseases and disturbances many of which frustrate the physician because it is difficult to
locate the cause. "Silent Inflammation" refers to a condition in
which the inflamed site is not painful, and may go unnoticed, even though it is causing problems elsewhere in
the body.
A third concept is in the fact that the human body is an informational system that uses the
body's complex connective tissue to communicate information to every single cell of the body. When information loses its congruency, disease states set
in.
Many questions can be answered by the above response within a new body science called the "Living
Matrix", which refers to the body as a complete informational system, containing electrical and electronic
componentry and terms such as conductors, resistors, capacitors and semi-conductors. This "Body Electric"
responds best to electrical and electronic signaling when the right devices are used.
The successes obtained by micro current devices using high voltage to stimulate "C" fibers into
producing all important molecules called "Neuropeptides" cannot be stressed enough. These devices are changing the way we are thinking in the medical world –
spurred on by a silent majority that are slowly but surely gaining knowledge on how to easily solve a problem
that has baffled Science since the beginning of time in spite of the pharmaceutical hype.
Testimonial
After falling down a stairway and crushing my left elbow in 1988, I have suffered with neck,
back, shoulder, arm, elbow and hand pain for 23 years. I would
conservatively estimate that I have taken well over 50,000 aspirin in the past 23 years. On a really good day, I would take 2 aspirin after waking up and 2 aspirin
before bed time. Even though I have sometimes taken up to 24
aspirin during a really really bad day, I have refused to ever take narcotics - no matter how bad the
pain.
Thanks to Biofeedback Electro Stimulation Technology, I am now "virtually" pain
free. JLB – DDS
Dr. John A. Hache,
DNM
Professional Medical Trainer and Specialist in Micro Current
Intervention
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