Chiropractor Says Space-Age Technology Provides Down-to-Earth Benefits for Patients

What does the Russian space program have to do with chiropractic care? Quite a bit, according to Tom Lenahan, DC.

Dr. Lenahan, who has practiced chiropractic as a second career for 15 years, says he's seen tremendous breakthroughs in patient healing through the use of electrical stimulation--a concept first researched by the Russians for their space program. The Russian government developed the research because it wasn't practical to send an entire pharmacy along to keep their space explorers healthy. So, Russian scientists started looking for healing alternatives.

"As they began to explore how electricity works in the body, they realized it's the body's primary driver system," says Lenahan. The researchers found that the body has two electrical components. The first, the nervous system, is like the hard wiring, says Dr. Lenahan. The second wasn't as well understood.

"They discovered the body has a second component to it," Lenahan continues. "It is a semi-conducting system in the body, much like your computer. They realized they could stimulate that fascial, semi-conducting system to send a signal to the brain and get it to produce various neuropeptides. This gave them an effective, efficient means of treatment for anything they would run into in space. It's still one of the primary components of the Russian battlefield first-aid kit."

It might still sound like a strange fit with chiropractic techniques, but Lenahan insists it isn't. In fact, Lenahan discovered the power of electrical stimulation in his own quest to find better ways to help his chiropractic patients.

"As I got into chiropractic school, I realized there were many facets that were needed to help the body heal," says Dr. Lenahan. "In our profession, there are those who are 'straights' and those who are 'mixers.' I'm the mixer's mixer. I've always sought avenues and technology that would benefit my patients."

That's why he was so excited when he found the technology of electrical stimulation.

"It works for acute injuries, but also for the chronic degenerative condition," he says. "This technology is able to add energy into the system and retard that degenerative process."

Not only will this technique allow chiropractors to help their patients in ways never thought possible, says Lenahan, but it will also result in a boost in chiropractic practices.

"The...units will let you address really severe pain. They will help you alleviate that and get your patients back in, and keep them coming in," Dr. Lenahan explains.

"A lot of times we lose patients because the pain is so severe, and they feel they have to go someplace and get drugs. This will help you manage that type of process."