Introduction
The past thirty years have seen a tremendous amount of research in the relations between electricity, electromagnetic fields and living organisms. Robert Becker, MD details much of the research in his books "The Body Electric" and "Cross Currents." Bjorn Nordenstrom, MD in his book "Biologically Closed Electric Circuits," meticulously documents his own, extensive research in this area. Both of these esteemed researchers, and a multitude of other respected scientists have shown that abnormal physiology is accompanied by abnormal electrical charge. In the normal healing process electrons flow to the abnormal area in what has been termed the "current of injury." There is ample evidence that artificially interfering with or enhancing the current of injury interferes with or enhances the healing process. This phenomenon has been used for over two decades now to stimulate bone healing in the field of orthopedics.

While in Western Medicine the concept of energy flow in the body has been largely forsaken many healing traditions from around the world are based on the balance and flow of energy. Two well known examples are Ayurveda, which talks of the flow/balance of "Prana", and Traditional Chinese Medicine which talks of the flow/balance of "Chi." The basic theory in both of these systems of healing is that illness is caused by an imbalance in the flow of energy in the body and that restoration of normal energy flow can help restore health. Nixon's trip to China in the early 1970s generated a great deal of interest in acupuncture when a reporter covering the trip developed appendicitis and was operated on and acupuncture was used for pain control. Curious Western scientists subsequently discovered that the acupuncture points and meridians are low resistance electrical pathways through which minute D.C. currents flow. Our bodies are continually producing minute D.C. currents through both mechanical and chemical means. These currents follow the paths of least resistance which are in essence like an electric grid for the body. The body in turn uses these currents to regulate a variety of important functions. Even though many Western trained physicians try to explain the effects of acupuncture on the basis of endorphin release (biochemistry) or "gate theory" mechanisms (neurologic) acupuncture also alters the flow of current in the body and can thus have very powerful effects apart from any biochemical or neurologic mechanism.

In August of 1995, being familiar with a variety of different "energy therapies," I decided to experiment with static electricity as a therapeutic tool. After seeing dramatic responses with family members and friends I decided to risk my reputation and career and started to use this technique with patients in my medical practice. What follows is a description of the technique used, the theory of what this is doing in the body and documentation of clinical responses in 422 patients treated with Electrostatic Massage (EM) from 2-96 through 11-97. 

Technique 
A piece of schedule 40 PVC pipe, one and a half inches in diameter and one foot long can be easily charged with static electricity by rubbing it vigorously on a "painter's mitt." Both supplies are readily available at most hardware stores for minimal cost. When you rub the PVC pipe a significant amount of heat will build up from the friction. Once the PVC has been charged up it is moved in a slow sweeping motion, proximal to distal (head to toe direction), over the symptomatic part of the body being treated. The PVC is held approximately one half to one inch away from the body during this process. The sweeping motion is repeated until the symptoms have abated or 15 minutes have elapsed, whichever comes first. The PVC holds the static charge for quite a while but will probably need to be recharged a few times to maintain its effectiveness. You will notice that the hairs on your skin will not stand up as much and the tingling/massage/breeze sensation is not as strong when the charge starts to weaken. The skin over the area being treated must be completely exposed with hair pulled out of the way and any clothes pulled back or removed from the area as these can interfere with the movement of electrons through the body. If you have arthritis of the hands, carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis of the hands/wrists/elbows or shoulders you may not be able to perform this technique for yourself because of inadequate grip strength to build up enough friction or because the charging motion may aggravate your underlying condition. If this is the case have someone else perform the electrostatic massage for you. 

Theory
When the PVC is rubbed with something fuzzy or furry, like a painter's mitt, it gains electrons and becomes negatively charged. Because the PVC is negatively charged it repels electrons. By sweeping the negatively charged PVC near the body electrons are pushed toward the symptomatic area. Moving electrons to an area of abnormal physiology enhances the current of injury described by Dr. Becker. Enhancing the current of injury can in turn facilitate the normal healing process. 

In some cases abnormal physiology is caused by an injury and the abnormal electrical charge ensues. In other cases an abnormal electrical process can initiate abnormal physiology. The latter scenario is more consistent with the concept of energetic imbalance causing illness as described in non-Western healing traditions. In either case using electrostatic massage (EM) will induce physiologic changes through the movement of electrons to the affected area.

The other very significant effect of EM is that it moves water. With our bodies being about 70% water anything that has a strong effect on water can profoundly influence physiology. Typically areas of injury/inflammation have associated edema and an even higher amount of water than normal. By moving water accumulated in an area of inflammation pressure on nerves can be reduced and inflammatory byproducts can be dissipated. The fact that water is extremely responsive to electrostatic charge can be demonstrated easily by holding the charged PVC near the top of a small stream of water as it trickles out of a faucet and watching it bend toward the PVC pipe. 

Clinical Response
Of 422 patients treated with EM 316 (75%) responded within 5 to 15 minutes. A positive response consisted of either objective improvement in range of motion, decreased tenderness or subjectively decreased pain after treatment on a scale of 1 to 10. 

A variety of different conditions were treated with varying degrees of responsiveness. The top six diagnoses treated along with the response rates are listed in descending order of treatment frequency: 
 

*	Muscular pain 88/104 (83%)
*	Sinus Headache 38/48 (85%)
*	Arthritis 29/41 (70%)
*	Tension Headache 29/34 (85%)
*	Fibromyalgia 20/25 (80%)
*	Rotator cuff tendonitis 19/25 (76%)

 

After a single in office treatment patients are fully able to continue using EM independently. While the above results are short term in nature I am beginning to see long term trends in terms of decreased use of medications, fewer office visits and fewer emergency room visits. This is for all intents and purposes a free, yet powerful, form of therapy which enhances the body's own healing process. In fact it is a good idea to have a medical diagnosis if the condition causing your symptoms is anything but an obvious self-limited problem because the use of this technique could mask the symptoms of a serious underlying condition. I have seen several patients with pain from metastatic bone cancer relieved by electrostatic massage so it is vital that you know what you're treating. 

Discussion
Based on what physicians are taught in medical school the treatment I have described should do absolutely nothing! Trying to explain away the results entirely on the basis of a placebo effect is both disingenuous and highly improbable given the responses observed and knowing that many of the patients responded despite being highly skeptical. The fact that there is such a consistent response across a wide range of conditions suggests that the Western medical model is inadequate. The thousands of years of positive experience with energy based therapies in other cultures further reinforces the fact the Western medical model is incomplete. I would go so far as to describe this as an "energy crisis" in Western medicine. 

Western medicine actually has a very rich history, spanning over two centuries, of using electrical, electrostatic and magnetic devices for different health conditions. Most of these approaches have fallen into disrepute because of overzealous and inappropriate claims made by those promoting their use. 

Unfortunately the "energetic baby" appears to have been thrown out with the quackish bath water as Western medicine has committed itself to an exclusively biochemical explanation of how the body works. As recently as the 1930s there was an electrostatic gadget called a "violet ray" used by millions of people in the USA to alleviate various aches and pains. These devices are now mostly collecting dust in attics or are in "quackery" museums. Due to the fact that these devices were inappropriately claimed as cures for everything from cancer to hemorrhoids to venereal diseases the medical community understandably classified them as quackery. Unfortunately, this was done without a single study (that I am aware of) to test the clinical efficacy of the violet ray. In my practice I have experimented with the violet ray for pain relief and have found that the response rate is similar to that observed with EM. Because EM generates, at most 10,000 to 20,000 volts of charge and the violet ray can easily generate ten times as much charge there is the potential for side effects or discomfort if the violet ray is used inappropriately. 

Why haven't we incorporated energy techniques and theories in the West? There are probably many answers to this question. One significant factor is that many of the energy therapies from other cultures are described in metaphysical, mystical, esoteric and philosophical terms that may be threatening to our belief systems. Also the terminology generally used can not be directly translated or understood in Western scientific terms. Another factor is that it is often not possible to perform "double blinded" studies with some of the energetic interventions. It is in fact impossible to design a blinded study for EM or for the violet ray because you either know you are being treated or you know you are not being treated - there is no guessing because the treatment causes such obvious, recognizable sensations. However, the fact that blinded studies cannot be designed in no way invalidates the very real effect of these therapies. 

The reductionistic Western Medical model is composed of anatomic structures which are in turn made up of systems, organs, cells, molecules and atoms. In order to expand the Western model to include energy we merely need to go one step further in the process of reductionism and look at the subatomic interaction of protons, neutrons, electrons, muons, pions and a host of other subatomic interactions which are energetic. Once we do this it will become obvious that there is no biochemical or biological process which occurs in an energetic vacuum. 

Conclusion
Abnormal physiology is associated with abnormal electrical activity. Correcting the abnormal electrical activity facilitates restoration of normal physiology. EM is a simple, non-invasive technique using static electricity which produces demonstrable clinical results. This technique can be taught to patients so that they can use it independently and reduce the need for more aggressive and expensive medical interventions. 

There is tremendous potential for the use of energy therapies. We need to devote more research to EM specifically and energy therapies in general to fully develop their potential. Perhaps the scanner used by Dr. McCoy on the old Star Trek series is not so far fetched. Some day, in the not too distant future, I would not be surprised if some conditions could be routinely diagnosed and treated non-invasively by detection and correction of energetic imbalances. The field of physics has advanced dramatically with the understanding of subatomic interactions and the advent of quantum physics. When Western medicine acknowledges and embraces the important interaction between energy and physiology we can expect to see equally dramatic advances.

References
1. Becker Robert O: Cross Currents - The Perils of Electropollution, The Promise of Electromedicine. Los Angeles; Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 1990. 

2. Borgens RB, Robinson KR, Vanable JW Jr, McGinnis ME: Electrical Fields in Vertebrate Repair. New York; Alan R. Liss Inc., 1989. 

3. Cambridge NA. Electrical apparatus used in medicine before 1900. Proc R Soc Med 1977 Sep;70(9):635-41 

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5. Hou TZ, Dawitof M, Wang JY, Li MD: Experimental evidence of a plant meridian system. Am J Chin Med 1994; 22(1);1-10. 

6. Hyvarinen J, Karlsson M: Low resistance skin points that may coincide with acupuncture loci. Med Biol 1977 Apr; 55(2);88-94.

7. Jakoubek B, Rohlicek V: Changes of electrodermal properties in the "acupuncture points" on men and rats. Physiol Bohemoslov 1982; 31(2):143-9. 

8. Nordenstrom Bjorn EW: Biologically Closed Electrical Circuits. Stockholm, Nordic Medical Publications, 1983. 
 

9. Reichmanis M , Marino AA , Becker RO. D.C. skin conductance variation at acupuncture loci. Am J Chin Med 1976 Spring;4(1):69-72 

10. Rowbottom Margaret and Susskind Charles: Electricity and Medicine - History of Their Interaction. San Francisco; San Francisco Press, Inc., 1984. 

11. Saku K, Mukaino Y, Ying H, Arakawa K: Characteristics of reactive electropermeable points on the auricles of coronary heart disease patients. Clin Cardiol 1993 May; 16 (5):415-419.