Erchonia Medical Hijacks Wikipedia
By Jan Tunér
The most used dictionary in the world is Wikipedia. When compared to traditional dictionaries, Wikipedia is more or less equal in reliability. The strength and the weakness of Wikipedia is than anybody can enter and change what is written. Generally this means updating and improving, but sometimes it has less noble motives. The Wikipedia presentation of Low Level Laser Therapy has been changed several times and used to be fairly correct. Recently, however, the Erchonia Medical company has used Wikipedia for advertising their products. In the article quoted below, “Erchonia” is mentioned eleven times! This is not only unethical but also against the rules of Wikipedia. But is part of the company tactics to spread pseudoscience, such as “635 nm 7 mW photons penetrate a human body”. Read and make your own judgment! A surprising observation is that references 10, 11 and 18 are not related to LLLT and reference 1 is to the failed analysis of Brosseau. The author seems to have little expertise in the field. The article was copied (and slightly edited for reasons of space) on May 6th 2012. Click here to read more on this latest Erchonia Scam. 160 KB PDF
[NB: The Wikipedia page on Low Level Laser Therapy has been changed, yet again, and Erchonia's self-aggrandizing contribution has been removed.]
2 comments
James Copeland
Jun 8, 2012
I would be curious as to where the Erchonia research has been carried out. It is obvious that due to the weak nature of their lasers, deep tissue healing is an impossibility, but is it possible it is working on a different level? I have no idea what level that might be, but they are certainly insistent that they have gotten favorable results in treating ailments.
I am only a humble practitioner who uses a gallium arsenide , super pulsed laser, with a decent degree of success, and I know little if anything about their grocery store scanner-type laser , other than I have played with one once or twice.
admin
Jun 10, 2012
James, thanks for your comment.
You are quite correct, in stating that “It is obvious that due to the weak nature of their lasers, deep tissue healing is an impossibility“. You then ask “…but is it possible it is working on a different level?“. Well, that’s a very good question!
If you look at another wikipedia page written by Erchonia to promote their Zerona device, you’ll see that they explain the biological mechanisms of action utilized, supposedly, by that device, and that these are the same mechanisms as those generally understood to underpin all of laser therapy. They even state, somewhat correctly, that “bioorganic photochemistry is defined by laws, and the first law of photochemistry states that a photoabsorbing structure must be present to yield a clinical outcome“. So here, at least, they acknowledge that light must first be absorbed before photobiological activity can occur.
And yet in virtually every other realm in which you find Erchonia products discussed, it is not photon absorption by e.g. cytochrome c oxidase that is claimed to produce effects, but other, less scientifically-validated mechanisms, such as: “The laser restores balance, harmony, and order by entraining the out-of-step frequencies back to their proper oscillations. The laser is actually integrative in its effects. You simply program in the appropriate frequencies, laser the effected areas, and the body is entrained back to coherence, and hence, normal functioning.“, and “The Erchonia laser also allows you to program in specific frequency oscillations that have been found to affect various tissues and organs. The oscillations that resonate with the targeted areas of the body are achieved by turning the light on and off at very specific and precise rates. The number of frequencies you can program is almost limitless and includes all of the known Life frequencies.“.
In a very entertaining and highly pseudoscientific article, written for Erchonia and entitled ‘The Biological Basis of Low Level Laser Light Therapy‘, James Oschman Ph.D. discusses numerous physical and biological concepts from “biophotons” to “kinematics“, and “non-linear dynamics” to “quantum physics“, tying these discrete concepts together in such a way as to explain the principles of action (according to Erchonia) of laser therapy.
Regardless of the specific topic, the invocation of quantum physics in pseudoscience is rife, and Oschman is specifically called out in this regard in “A review of Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis – by Harriet Hall, MD, Skeptic Magazine, Vol. 11, Nr. 3, 2005.“. As Hall says, “Pseudoscience and new age philosophies frequently invoke quantum theory out of context. Oschman’s book is no exception.“.
Oschman is the author of other similarly far-fetched and invalid concepts, such as the following from an article entitled ‘The Science Behind Reiki’: “Pulsing magnetic fields from the hands of Reiki therapists are in the same frequency ranges that are optimal for stimulating tissue repair.“, and “The brain waves of energy therapists synchronize with the earth’s magnetic field.“, and “Compassion and loving intention amplify the magnetic field.“.
Oschman’s writings are often referenced as supportive of Erchonia’s claims. In his Erchonia ‘Biological Basis’ article, for example, Oschman states that “The flow of energy through a system organizes the system, so laser light may open up and facilitate the operation of biophotonic communication pathways. Disturbed tissues will scatter light and inhibit the flows of photonic energy and information needed for injury repair.“, and “Quantum coherence gives rise to a highly mobile form of energy and information that can be transferred from place to place with great speed and efficiency and virtually no loss. In terms of physics, the energy is delocalized.”
Perhaps ‘delocalized’ energy is how they explain their dog-n-pony show technique of shining their broadly-diverging line-scanned laser beam across a crowded room and miraculously healing someone in the back row? Or maybe it’s trotted out to justify their equally fallacious claims about the 635 nm photons penetrating through the body, or their laser affecting cures through animal hair and clothing; a claim that is nicely debunked in an SLMS presentation on YouTube.
To summarize, although Erchonia gives a nod in the direction of photon absorption as a principle of action their other writings and promotional activities give a much clearer insight into their beliefs and philosophy, none of which are rigorously supported by the science that provides the current and widely recognized basis of understanding of photobiomodulation. They have closely aligned themselves with authors of scientifically-dubious writings, and refer to pseudoscientific ‘evidence’ in support of their products.
Most importantly, Erchonia is as yet unable to adequately explain the mechanisms behind the outcomes they report from the studies they’ve conducted, and these same claimed outcomes are yet to be independently confirmed.
Peter A. Jenkins