Massage Machines

From Exposing Spiritualistic Practices in Healing Edwin

Noyes M.D.

There are many machines, chairs, and/or beds sold to effect massage. I see no concern here. However if in purchasing for my own use or going to a place to receive treatment from such an instrument, and its benefits are explained as coming from a manipulation of universal energy to impart health and I accept that concept, then I believe one is on Satan’s ground.

I am often asked about a particular machine as to whether it is a part of the above described occultic pseudoscientific electronic gadgetry. One such machine is the “Chi Machine.” There are several close copy duplicate machines with changed names and selling for a lesser price. I opened the web site for the Original Chi Machine” and found that the site makes comments about the me-too machines and how one will not receive the real therapy from these copy-cats.

The Chi Machine was imported into the U.S. from Japan where its originator received a Japanese patent. It is a device that moves the legs in a figure eight motion. One lies down, with legs together and outstretched with ankles on a holder, the holder then moves the ankles and legs side to side in a smooth figure of eight motion 140 times a minute. The motion is not more than four inches in width. It does cause some motion of the pelvis and extension into the spine, similar to the motion of a fish swimming.

The Federal Drug Administration has given it a class III status. It has been shown to lessen swelling in the legs when edema is present. Therefore, there is some physiologic action, but very minimal. It was not compared with the benefits for reduced swelling in legs by lying down with legs elevated.

But what about questions as to its spiritualistic influence? I read through the website of the Original Chi Machine and there seemed to be nothing I could find that gave a hint that spiritistic ideas were incorporated into its use. After a long list of attributes of the proclaimed physiological benefits of using the apparatus, I found what I suspected from the beginning—that it was a machine developed to promote the movement of the Eastern dogma of chi—universal energy. See the paragraph below taken from the http://energywellnessproducts.com website.

Exercising Internal Organs and Building “Chi.” “Chi is a Chinese word referring to the life force or life energy. Chi increases the feeling of aliveness and wellbeing. Ch’in is the permeating energy within the universe and creates vitality: Western medical science is beginning to consider ancient Eastern traditions. These Eastern traditions emphasize healing and good health based on a life force energy, which flows in channels through all living forms. The Ch’in Machine aids in unblocking the “Ch’in” pathways and ensures a maximum flow of healing source throughout your body and organs.

This is another example of a pagan healing method presenting itself under the banner of science and proclaiming all sorts of non-proven benefits from a scientific standpoint, when in reality the whole objective is to introduce the Eastern pagan dogma. Early in the chapter on Mystical Herbology, I write about a book on aromatherapy which made the statement that twenty years earlier the introduction of aromatherapy was done through strict promotion as if its value was only physiological benefits. But now the acceptance of the spiritual nature of aromatherapy is so accepted there can be direct comments on its spiritual power.

What about receiving therapy from a person who has definitely accepted the universal energy— spiritualistic doctrine but gives me regular physical therapy as the doctor prescribed? Should I look elsewhere for a therapists that is not tied into such beliefs? I will leave that to you, I cannot answer for you, and it is between you and God. However let me draw your attention to the following quote:

Danger in Consulting Cultist Physicians.–There is danger in departing in the least from the Lord’s instruction. When we deviate from the plain path of duty, a train of circumstances will arise that seem irresistibly to draw us farther and farther from the right. Needless intimacies with those who have no respect for God will seduce us, ere we are aware. Fear to offend worldly friends will deter us from expressing our gratitude to God or acknowledging our dependence upon Him. . . .

Angels of God will preserve His people while they walk in the path of duty; but there is no assurance of such protection for those who deliberately venture upon Satan’s ground. An agent of the great deceiver will say and do anything to gain his object. It matters little whether he calls himself a spiritualist, an “electric physician,” or a “magnetic healer….” ¹⁾ White, E.G., Education, Pacific Press, Nampa Idaho, (1903), 607.

I wish to share with the reader concerning a particular massage table that is sold around the world coming from a foreign country and marketed in many countries that does give some concern. There are a number of web sites on the Internet advertising this massage table under the name Nuga Best. It is widely promoted and very popular throughout the countries Ukraine and Russia. In my investigation of this table I once went to a treatment center in Ukraine that had several tables and where the therapist was treating up to forty patients each day. Due to lack of an interpreter at the time of the visit I was not able to hear what a new patient would be told about the machine and its benefits. The price for a treatment was expensive. While visiting the therapy center I did read the machine’s manual from the manufacture. There were no comments made anywhere as to the effectiveness or improvement of disorders that one could expect from therapy. It totally avoided any comments as to its use. This is a customary pattern for machines that are not shown to be of true therapeutic value. The manufacture avoids any legal conflict. However the agents who sell machines and those directing treatment may have a story to tell which may not be bound to reality or truth.

I am going to share with you what information I obtained on a web site promoting the Nuga Best Therapeutic Thermal Massage Table. I opened this web site one day, and on the following day I could not pull up this article. There was a web site for the clinic that the article had originated from but not this article. Fortunately I had printed out the four page article about the Nuga Best massage table and its description. The article had been withdrawn, why? (Now 3-28-11, replaced) The other articles advertised by this chiropractic clinic in Montana, USA were still on the web site, strange? First, the opening paragraph:

The special genius of Nuga Best, the result of extensive research and development, lies in the marriage of the ancient Eastern healing arts of acupressure, massage, and moxibution (heat ther-apy) with modern chiropractic theory, far-infrared light therapy, and modern technology. Thus, through our products and services, we contribute to society and to the health of the human race. (Emphasis added)

The web site contains four pages of written comments, it intermingles the pantheistic Eastern thought and healing traditions with the comments on the value and benefits of the machine. This intermingling is careful however to never really say directly that the machine influences the power that those Eastern healing traditions proclaim. It lets the reader assume so, but has protected the author from being accused of teaching that the machine accomplishes such. This technique I have frequently run into in the subject of alternative healing. The article talks about chi, life force, power, the universal life energy that is said to run through everything. It is written so as to appear that the machine will aid the movement of this imagined energy. See the quote below:

Nuga Best automatically massages the muscles and tendons around the spine, relaxing hardened nerve roots, relieving tension, and improving the flow of chi, lie back relax and enjoy! ²⁾ http://bigskywellnesscenter.com (info about Nuga Best now removed from website) (Emphasis added)

As one lies on the massage table the “highly therapeutic” heated jade rollers emit far-infrared light beams as they roll up and down the spine. A comment is made about a massage phase and an acupressure phase. Massage from the table is said to stimulate major acupuncture meridians along the spine causing powerful bioelectric impulses to course throughout the nervous system. Massage from the machine is said to increase circulation of the blood and of vital force energy—chi.

We are told that Nuga Best massage does the same as acupuncture yet without the needles or the focused pressure of acupressure. The physiological benefits are widely known so says the article: relaxed muscles and tendons, reduced anxiety, less insomnia, increased circulation and over all improved flow of chi. Let the Christian beware.

(Article on nuga best not now on this web site)

There are many varieties of machines bearing various names being promoted as being able to diagnose and or heal. The following text in reference to machines is taken from the book Exposing Spiritualistic Practices in Healing.

RADIONICS

Radionics, psychotronics, etc., involves the occult use of technology (various devices). It does not really deal in heretofore undiscovered areas of undetected energy, but rather is dependent on the psychic ability of the operator, referred to as radiaesthesia. For example, radionics is divination (not always recognized or admitted), and the same as using a rod or pendulum. Radionics is divination aided by a mechanical apparatus–Abrams box, black box, or any one of the numerous machines used for such work.

Some years ago I had a family come to my office in great distress. They had secured the services of a medical practitioner who had sent a saliva specimen of their little girl to a lab that used a radionic machine. The family was told that the machine made the diagnosis of acute leukemia. They were shaken and frightened. They asked for my help in determining if this was so. The child had no symptoms that would have caused a physician to suspect such an illness. A blood count was ordered and done at a hospital laboratory. It was normal with no hint of leukemia. Their medical practitioner had given them the diagnosis of leukemia, because the machine had diagnosed leukemia. The family did not understand what clinical and lab findings go with leukemia and my assurance that the child did not have the disease was not enough to relieve their fears. I sent them to a pediatrician who had advanced training in leukemia. He agreed with me, but their doubts lingered. It took many months of normal life before they were free of the fear caused by this wrong diagnosis.

What concept of science did this medical practitioner have that caused him to believe the diagnosis made by the machine? This introduces a belief that is common in the non-scientific world of health and healing, that of vibrational medicine. The radionic machine is said to be able to detect vibrations or frequencies from the saliva. If any disharmony is in the salivary vibrations, the machine can analyze in such a manner as to detect and diagnose the abnormality. Where does the idea originate that saliva has vibrations, or frequencies? How does vibration from saliva relate to an individual and make it possible for a machine to make a diagnosis of leukemia?

We have to return to the basic pagan belief that every existing thing has a common origin from a non-describable energy (vitalism) that is present throughout the universe. This energy is said to be manifest in every living substance (some authors, writing on this subject, include inanimate substances), and that there is an aura of radiating energy that emanates and surrounds those substances. This radiating energy is believed to have a specific vibrational or electromagnetic frequency. If the particular frequency is off normal, it indicates an imbalance of energy. Electronic machines have been made that are supposed to detect the vibrational imbalance, ascertain the reason for the imbalance, and make a diagnosis. It is simply another form of divination. It is not true science. Vibrational Medicine is simply a synonym for Energy Medicine.

A commonly used radionic machine is the EVA machine—Electro Acupuncture According to Voll (Reinhold Voll). Voll was a German physician engaged in acupuncture, starting in the 1950’s. EVA technique is a form of radionics, with the concept of measuring by use of an electronic machine, hypothesized electric impulses from specific acupuncture points which, in turn, are said to have originated from an organ having meridian connections to that specific point. The machine is supposed to reveal low, normal, or high electronic vibrations from the organ. Low amplitude electronic vibration reveals a weak organ; a high signal reveals inflammation.

Then, if you find an organ that has a low energy, for example, you insert a medicine contained in a vial into that electrical circuit which also consists of the patient and the machine. If the medicine vibrates at the same frequency as the weak signal being tested, synchronizes, harmonizes, literally, electronically, with the low signal from the weak organ, the amplitude or strength of the signal will get higher as the two frequencies will superimpose and add together. Then you know that what is in the vial is the right medicine for that organ, for that patient. The person doing the testing must be highly sensitive, that is, have high occult powers.

The American Cancer Society, exposing non-scientific alternative medical treatments, lists the following synonyms regarding terms used by proponents of various alternative treatment methods: Electromagnetism, Bioelectricity, Magnetic Field Therapy, Bioelectromagnetics, Bioenergy Therapy, BioResonance Tumor Therapy, Energy Medicine, Black Boxes, Electronic Devices; Electrical Devices, Zapping Machine, Rife Machine, Cell com System.

These terms refer to names given by alternative healers to the energy they say comes from the body, which machines are said to be able to detect, diagnose, and use to treat for different medical disorders.

It is claimed by radionic practitioners that when electromagnetic frequencies, or energy fields, proclaimed to be within the body are unbalanced, disease and illness occur. The belief is that these imbalances disrupt the body’s chemical makeup. By applying electromagnetic energy from outside the body, either by the hands of a healer or by electronic devices, practitioners claim they can correct the electrical imbalances in the body.

There are a variety of radionic machines for sale on the internet. You may find a practitioner that uses one but most physicians will not do so. What are these machines, how do they work? Why doesn’t most medical doctor use them? Let me present my answer.

The machines are simply galvanometers that measure the electrical resistance of a person’s skin. The machine will usually have two electrodes, one the patient will hold, or, someway be attached to the patient. The other electrode in the form of a pointed wand—probe, will be held by the operator of the machine and apply to acupuncture points on the body. The machine has a dial with a needle, or has a screen that shows some type of graph which will move in response to flow of electricity through the machine. The machine sends a current through an electrode held by the patient, the other electrode—probe, held on the skin by the operator, receives the electricity flowing through the body and carries it back into the machine which has a gauge. The needle on the gauge moves according to the strength of electrical flow which is determined by 1) amplitude of electricity generated by the machine, 2) the quality of contact on the skin of the two electrodes. If the probe is pushed hard making better skin contact the electrical flow increases, if a poor contact on the skin is made then less electrical flow. That’s it! Nothing more!

A galvanometer is the same electrical tool as the “volt-meter” most men have in their tool boxes. I took my volt-meter, turned it on so it emitted a low amplitude electric current and then grasped an electrode in each hand. No swing of the needle. Then I moistened the fingers holding the electrodes and the needle moved, I squeezed harder and the needle moved further. I took one probe and touched a spot on my body and no motion of the needle, I moistened the skin and now the needle moved and the harder I pushed the probe the greater the swing of the needle in the dial.

An acupuncture point is considered by its proponents to connect to and reveal the status of energy balance of an organ, endocrine gland, immune system, or some other body response such as allergy etc. The results of the test really depend upon the operator, not some hypothetical energy balance. This type of testing is often promoted as being able to detect any and every type of disease, even before it manifests in the body. Machine testing is also proclaimed to be able to detect vitamin and mineral deficiencies or excesses, to check substances for allergic response, to select appropriate homeopathic medicinal remedies, and even to treat. Real science! NO! This is fraud or divination or both!

Let’s look at some names applied to these radionic instruments: electroacupunctue according to Voll (EAV); electrodermal screening (EDS); bioelectric functions diagnosis (BFD); bioresonance therapy (BRT); bioenergy regulatory technique (BER); biocybernetic medicine (BM); computerized electrodermal screening (CEDS), electrodermal testing (EDT); limbic stress assessment (LSA); meridian energy analysis (MEA), or point testing. Additional names one may encounter are Dermatron, Vegatest, Accupath 1000, Asyra, Avatar, BICOM, BioTron, Biomeridian, Computron, Dermatron, DiagnoMetre, Eclosion, e-Lybra 8, ELAST, Interro, Interactive Query System (IQS0), I-Tronic, Kindling, LISTEN System, Mora, Matrix Physiques System, Meridian energy Analysis Device (MEAD), MSAS, Oberon, Omega, Acubase, Omega Vision, Orion System Phazx, Prognos, Prophyle, Punctos III, Syncrometer, Vantage, Victor-Vitalpunkt diagnose, Vitel 618 and ZYTO, Zapping Machine, Royal Rife Machine, Cell Com System.481

What are the claims about the machines’ capabilities? Let us look at an advertisement connected with the Mora Machine.

The Mora technique can be likened to being a health detective. In the hands of the right practitioner it delivers a fascinating in-depth investigation of what exactly is going on in your body on every level at that precise moment. It tests the body for imbalances as well as intolerances of foods and other allergens such as animal fur or dust, for example. It can be used to identify specific nutritional deficiencies and to find the correct homeopathic remedy.

The technique is, in fact, a form of painless electro-acupuncture; painless because there are no needles involved! Originally created for use by holistic skin therapists who continue to use it to treat disorders such as eczema, psoriasis and acne, it is now widely used to detect most disorders that manifest themselves physically, no matter what the cause.

The Mora machine itself picks up electromagnetic waves from the body and then manipulates those that have gone out of kilter by increasing or decreasing their amplitude before sending them back to the body to effect a cure. Where the detective work comes into force is in finding which nutritional or mineral deficiencies are responsible and which ones and what doses or cocktail mix of them will correct them…. ³⁾ http://www.mora-akademie.org/mora-mglichkeiten.html?&L=1 (if site does not open try “mora machine”)

Bio-Resonance Frequency Therapy is vibrational technique of recording a person’s voice, and submitting it to machine analysis. It is claimed to check for nutritional imbalances, stress, and illness. The acoustical vocal recording is claimed to provide information so that specific frequencies can be ascertained and returned, which are said to resonate and support the body. With this technique it is not necessary to make a diagnosis, as the frequencies imparted back to the body go to the core of the energy imbalance problem.

Practitioners claim that these above mentioned methods can treat ulcers, headaches, burns, chronic pain, nerve disorders, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, gum infections, asthma, bronchitis, arthritis, cerebral palsy, heart disease, and cancer. There is no scientific evidence to support any of the claims made for these devices.