I would assume that not everyone knows much about what I want to discuss today and as such, all terms to be used for our discussion will he explained in a lay man's term for easy comprehension by everyone regardless of your area of specialization. The goal has always been to pass knowledge in a clear and simple term, devoid of unnecessary ambiguity. Without wasting much time, let's delve into our topic of discussion proper.
Advances in science and technology has birthed a lot of innovations that have so far made human existence much enjoyable when compared to the medieval age. With respect to medical diagnosis, it has been a roller coaster ride considering how diagnosis have been made much easier and above all, less invasive. Today, not all medical procedures require invasive methods; all thanks to human ingenious ideas and discoveries.
The concept of energy medicine dates back in 1989 when it was coined by the International Society for the Study of Subtle Energy and Energy Medicine. This field of medicine was identified to consist of alternative and complementary medicine.
The human body no doubt has energy flow that runs through it and it is believed that, when this energy flow is interrupted, the resultant effect would be sickness. In essence, energy medicine defines illnesses as a consequence of disruption in body energy flow in cells, tissues and organs. It employs the principle of physics which obviously is founded on energy.
Energy medicine was further classified to be made up of two major classes - veritable and putative energy medicine, with the former focusing mainly on the use of external physical force to drive healing while the latter focuses on the ability of the individual to bring about their healing by manipulating the body's energy flow either through their mind, thoughts or through meditation, as a means to get healed from health related challenges.
The application and effectiveness of putative medicine has long been a subject of debate, as some scientist still call it a mere sham with no scientific proof. A typical example is acupuncture. Even though some of the different forms of putative energy medicine are claimed to work effectively, case in point yoga exercises, their is still no substantial verifiable scientific proof to back them up, even though some people believes it works, just like accupuncture.
They are preferably regarded by some, as a procedure that is simply synonymous to a placebo. This article is intended to discus facts abd not raise controversies, and as such we will focus more on the veritable type of energy medicine considering how well it has been effectively proven to work and universally adopted as a very important technique in the field of medicine. Let's critically discuss veritable energy medicine.
What is it about veritable energy medicine
Just like we earlier explained that disruption in the natural glow of energy is responsible for illnesses. If we are to critically look at it, you would agreed with me that, we practically need energy to do work. This is so in cells, organelles, tissues, organs etc. In fact, there is practically no part of the human body that does not require energy to carryout cellular and metabolic functions.
The moment this energy is lacking, a breakdown in the body system ensues. A cell that is starved of its daily nutritional requirements will overtime breakdown and if the nutrients are not supplied soon enough, they die. The nutrients contains the energy the cells needs to function, since this energy flow to the cells have been disrupted, the cells simply will not be able to perform their roles in the body.
The above is the simple genesis of various diseases in living things, humans inclusive. So veritable energy medicine seeks to solve the problem by breaking or removing those barriers that disrupts energy flow in us, and when this happens, the body system can return to its normal state of function and activity.
Process involving the Hydrolysis of ATP to release energy for use by cells
The above factual evidence and practicable examples proves that, as humans, energy is an indispensable need for survival. These energy can be on different form. For example, cells use ATP as a form of energy to carryout metabolic functions. Once ATP is depleted, the energy to do work fades. The brain needs adequate glucose to perform effectively, if it does not get sufficient glucose to carryout its function, it shutdown thereby leading to coma.
Veritable energy medicine goes beyond energy requirements of cells because it aims at restoring that natural energy flow in cells through the use of forces in the form of different measurable frequencies and wavelengths. Sound and light are the core fundamental of veritable energy medicine. Let's explain this better.
Sound waves are propagated (transferred) as vibration on the target molecule while light waves are used in the form of electromagnetic radiation on tissue, organs and target cells. We will discuss sound waves later, let's first begin with the light waves.
The genesis of electrotherapy and electromagnetic radiation therapy
During the Medieval ages, report has it that some physicians were able to use electricity to treat patients. The first physician to apply electrotherapy was Christian Kratzenstein in the 19th century.
The drive behind the use of electricity was when it was discovered that electric fishes were able to generate some amount of electrical shock that can be used to alleviate pain in individuals. Though this didn't last long, with the advent of Non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), the practice lost its relevance but later resurface in the 20th century after its underlying scientific mechanism was well elucidated.
It was discovered that the use of electricity to relieve pains works by blocking pain receptors and its signal to the brain and subsequent release of neurological inhibitors, notably, acetylcholine and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA). These molecules have inhibitory properties to stop pain. Till date electrical stimulation has been used in various ways. One common application is seen in cardiac resuscitation using a defibrillator.
A defibrillator is a medical device used to supply electric shock to the skin. When this current is applied applied onto the skin, they can help restore the heart function. In patients with ventricular fibrillation (a type of abnormal heart rhythm aka arrhythmia) and ventricular tachycardia (an irregular electrical impulse that begins in the ventricles of the heart and causes the heart to beat faster), application of electricity supplied by the defibrillator restores the heart beat to normalcy. This is one of the indispensable use of energy in medicine.
Defibrillation Electrode Position
Till date, electricity plays a major role in clinical diagnosis and treatment of different disease conditions. Laser lights, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Electrocardiogram (EKG), computerized tomography (CT), Electroencephalogram (EEG) etc. are all techniques that apply the principle of veritable energy in diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Electromagnetic radiation are not only diagnostic but also therapeutic in their application.
It will not be out of place to ask the question, is electromagnetic radiation not unsafe to be applied in medical techniques. Actually they are, but the major determinant of this, is summarized in the excerpt below:
For many years it was thought that electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure would cause only harmful effects in the body, but it is now understood that the amount of energy (field strength or amplitude), and the frequency of the field is what determines whether it is harmful, therapeutic or benign
It is no news that radiations are very dangerous when they are ionizing in nature. The non ionizing species are better of in use than the ionizing ones. Ionizing radiation are mutagenic and carcinogenic in nature. They have the potency of altering the genes. Various disease condition that can be managed with veritable energy medicine include Alzheimer, Chronic Bronchitis, Migraine Headache etc.
The use of sound waves in veritable energy medicine
The second is the application of sound waves in therapeutic medicine. Ultrasound devices are usually a typical example in this regard. Sound is propagated in the form of vibration. As they transmit these waves, they transfer energy to their target molecule and as a result leads toby causing they to vibrate.
Dual function of ultrasound - The top ultrasound probe deposits ultrasound waves over a large area of tissue for imaging purposes while the bottom probe is a focused ultrasound probe that deposits the ultrasound energy on a very small area of the target tissue for therapeutic purposes.
The principle behind the application of sound energy is simple. The sound wave is a longitudinally propagated. As it travels and gets in contact with the target tissue, the energy from this sound is transmitted onto the tissue. What happens next is that, this energy causes oscillation of the molecules of the target tissue.
The resultant effect of the impact is that, the oscillation raises the energy in the tissue in the form of vibration. Increased vibration results to the generation of heat this raises the temperature of the tissue. As a rule of thumb, increase in heat generally increases the rate of reaction of any molecule or substance. Animal tissues are no different.
Sound waves can assess potentially dangerous atherosclerotic plaques, monitor chronic liver disease, and help deliver drugs to particular locations within the body. Ultrasound devices can image tumors deep inside the body, and acoustical energy can be focused upon those tumors as a way of treating cancer.
The raised thermal temperature increases the healing process on the tissues and at the same time, ensures better healing process. Should you wish to read a detailed write up about sound wave and how they play role that could affect human longevity, this article will help a lot - Establishing the relationship that exists between environmental noise and its impact on human longevity.
Veritable energy medicine has so evolved to the point that artificial materials can now be made to emit light energy that can be used in diagnosis. Let us take a quick dive into the advanced application of energy medicine as seen in optics.
The use of scintillating optical fibre in clinical diagnosis
Observation of live images of internal organs was a big challenge before now. The advent of optical fibres have changed the landscape in medicine. Today, it is easier to examine tissues suspected to be diseased, and this is done with less invasiveness.
First, let's get a better understanding of what optical fibres are and how they play significant role in clinical diagnosis. Optical fibres is an advanced technology in imaging. It is a very transparent fibre that is gotten from silica or even plastic. They are mostly designed to transmit light over a long distance.
One of the advantage of optical fibres is that, they can transmit energy or light over a long distance with less loss of the signal or energy being transmitted. This makes it indispensable in its use. Furthermore, they less susceptible to electromagnetic interference and they can withstand any harsh environment due to how they are structured. Bringing this closer to home (in clinical practice), they find their application in endoscopy.
Endoscopy is a procedure that requires the use of tubes passed through the difference orifice of the body with the aim of having a visual observation of the digestive tract, to access if there is any problem. The wire to which a camera is attached to, is made of optical fibres.
Optical fibres wires are preferred because there is practically less loss of the light illumination. The ability of optical fibres to minimize loss is due to the fact that, as the light passes through it, there is total internal reflection. In essence, the intensity of light at the other end of it is almost the same with that emitted on the output end.
Moving further, there are some material that have similar characteristics with optical fibres but they are a bit different in the sense that, they produce or give out light emission once they exposed to any radiation source. These type of fibres are referred to as Scintillating glass optical fibres. They have find their usefulness in various sectors but our interest lies in medicine where they are used in diagnosis.
Scintillating glass optical fibers
Scintillating glass optical fibers are the first viable medium for large -area, solid-state, thermal neutron sensors that have applications in national security, medicine, and materials research. Here, ultraviolet-induced florescence mimics scintillation.
The word scintillating simply describes the potential ability of a material to give off light when they are in contact with ionizing radiation (the type of radiation energy that has the capacity of removing electrons and ions from substances which can be living tissue or inanimate objects like water, air etc.). They glow once they absorb ionizing radiation. This is one of the reasons they used as optical sensors to monitor radiation.
Scintillating glass optic fibres have been reported to be used in mammography (medical imaging of the breast to detect any abnormality or breast cancer. The results, when compared with the conventional X-ray imaging technique, showed that the scintillating optical glass fibres application where better off.
This novel approach is a welcomed development considering how dangerous X-ray can be if things go hay wire. The chances of patients being exposed to ionizing radiation from the X-ray is the major factor in consideration. Ionizing radiation can predispose patients to cancer, hence, the need for the use of safe methods.
Conclusively, energy medicine is sure indispensable in medicine and it's importance cannot be overemphasized. The use of optical fibres and the scintillating types offers greater hope to humans onto a safer and better treatment approach to diseases.
Till I come your way, stay awesome!
References
•Frequency-domain techniques enhance optical mammography: Initial clinical results
•Biomedical application of optical fibre sensors
•Alternative medicine, Energy Medicine
•International Journal of Yoga - Energy medicine
•Cardiac Arrest and CPR
•Neuromuscular electrostimulation techniques: historical aspects and current possibilities in treatment of pain and muscle waisting
•Sound medicine
•Scintillating Fibers
•Optical mammography: Diffuse optical imaging of breast cancer
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