When we think of healing we usually think of wound healing. In this type of healing, there is a complex sequence of events that occur immediately after the injury, all carefully orchestrated by a cascade of biochemical reactions that end in repair of the injured site.
These phases are:
Inflammatory phase:
Formation of a cascade of clotting factor to stop bleeding
Platelets aggregation forming a mass (plug) by sticking to one another
Vasoconstriction-an initial narrowing of blood vessels to stop bleeding
A subsequent vasodilatation, to increase healing factors into the wound
Polymorphonuclear neutrophil influx (White blood cells) which:
Help to digest debris and bacteria
Kill bacteria by releasing oxygen free radicals
Clean the wound by secreting enzymes that degrade damaged tissue Undergo apoptosis-a process of programmed cell death
Macrophages (immune white cell) which:
Engulf and degrade white blood cells
Stimulate cells that cover the wound with skin
Create granulation tissue, connective tissue and tiny blood vessel on the surfaces of a wound during the healing process
Lay down extracellular matrix-a gel-like complex sugar that binds cells together
Proliferative phase (a phase of rapid production of new cells and substances)
Angiogenesis-the making of new blood vessels needed for healing
Fibrin and fibronectin-cross-linked fibrous strands to trap proteins and particles
Deposition of collagen-the main protein of connective tissue
Formation of fibrous connective tissue
Epithelialization phase
Final stage of healing with formation of skin over the wound
Contraction
Shortening of the scar
You may pass off your injury with the comment “Oh, it’s just a cut” but you can see from the above outline that the process of healing is incredibly dynamic and complex.
Repair of other types of tissues like bone, nerve, tendon, muscle etc. require similar complex interactions. Viruses, fungi, bacteria and parasitic infections can cause disease and have to be controlled to maintain a state of health as do chemical toxins and toxic metals. There are unique processes in place for healing in each of these areas.
I want to emphasize the word process. That is, there is a beginning, an intermediate phase and an ending. Healing events take place over time, not instantaneously.
As noted above the process of healing can be influenced by a variety of factors including infections, nutritional and immune deficiencies, age, chemicals, toxic metals, heat, coldness or organ failure. And that is just at the physical level.
Influences at the level of the soul, consisting of the intellect, the will and the emotions, may also influence healing, suggesting an interrelationship between these two levels of the body’s design.
Lastly, there is the influence of the spirit, not conventionally included as being important in the healing process, when, in fact, it may be one of the key elements in this process.
Since we are spirit, soul and body, true healing can only take place with harmony at all three levels of organization. I will expand on this topic with a discussion the complexity of the human living system in a future journal entry.
Our discussion will deal with the physical level first. We will show how computer generated electromagnetic signals alter skin resistance and how these electromagnetic altering signals initiate the healing process and sequentially track the healing process until it is completed. It is a wonderfully organized and integrated process.
Scientific discovery yields information that varies with the model that is being used. A model is a representation of “reality” based on tools and observations used in conducting such a study.
A surgeon, studying wound healing, may use a model based on wound closure with sutures, clips or bandages.
A forensic pathologist may use a model based on the kind of wound, whether it is a laceration, a puncture wound by a knife or bullet.
A microbiologist could use a model based on infectious processes that may affect wound healing.
A molecular biologist may want to use a biophysical or biochemical model to determine the sequence of events taking place during the wound healing process.
Our model is a biophysical model in which we compare information that is radiating through a biological system with information stored in a computer system. As an example, detection of an electromagnetic signal representing a bacterium in a skin wound would be useful in establishing an association with a wound infection.
There are two models for electrodermal detection (see my posting: “Treatment Priorities in Electrodermal Testing”).
In the first model, all of the signals stored in the computer are compared with all of the abnormal signals in the biological system.
This model is a general search for abnormal signals
Is not specific for detecting the sites of abnormal signals
It cannot be used to construct an electromagnetic profile for a clinical condition
Does not lend itself to be used in detailed sequential analysis
Disregards priorities set by the biological system
Your body is aware of sites of injury. Just hit your finger with a hammer and it will not take you very long to discover the priority your body has set for pain in the nail you just injured.
The electrodermal system will detect abnormal signals at sites of injury as well.
The second model focuses on biological specificity.
It is the method we have chosen
It is a more targeted method of analysis, one based on the sequential analysis of specific sites over time
This model is an iterative or a repetitive analysis at the same site
It is directed at altering abnormal signals until they can no longer be detected
The relationship between electromagnetic profiles and medical profiles (diagnosis) can be made easily
For example, you can identify the signals that are associated with rheumatoid arthritis or cancer or many other conditions and you can observe the electromagnetic changes that take place during the healing process
Changes can be tabulated for statistical review
Both of these models are electromagnetic in character. For practical purposes we can disregard the magnetic aspect of the signal and concentrate our discussion on its electrical characteristics only. In order to do this, an understanding of the role of physics in biology is necessary. This will be the subject of our next journal entry.
Textbook of Pediatric Emergency Procedures, Henretig, F, King, C (Eds), Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore 1997. p.1141.
Midwood K.S., Williams L.V., and Schwarzbauer J.E. 2004. Tissue repair and the dynamics of the extracellular matrix. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, 36(6): 1031-1037.
Stadelmann W.K., Digenis A.G. and Tobin G.R. 1998. Physiology and healing dynamics of chronic cutaneous wounds. The American Journal of Surgery, 176(2) 26S-38S.
Vincent J. Speckhart MD