Radionics

{{Short description|Form of alternative medicine}} {{About|use of electromagnetic radiation in alternative medicine|use in mainstream medicine|Electrotherapy}}

[[File:Dr. Albert Abrams.jpg|thumb|Albert Abrams (1863–1924), Photo {{circa|1900}}]]

thumb|220px|Radionic instruments

'''Radionics'''<ref>"Radionic", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd ed. (1989), Vol. XIII, p. 105. The earliest citation in this sense (number 2) is from 1947. The related term "radiesthesia" dates from the mid-1930s (''OED'', Vol. XIII, p. 94), thus both terms post-date Abrams's death.</ref>—also called '''electromagnetic therapy''' ('''EMT''') and the '''Abrams method'''—is a form of alternative medicine that claims that disease can be diagnosed and treated by applying electromagnetic radiation (EMR), such as radio waves, to the body from an electrically powered device.<ref name=ACS/> It is similar to magnet therapy, which also applies EMR to the body but uses a magnet that generates a static electromagnetic field.<ref name=ACS/><ref>{{cite journal |pmid=17577213 |year=2007 |last1=Gordon |first1=G.&nbsp;A. |title=Designed electromagnetic pulsed therapy: Clinical applications |volume=212 |issue=3 |pages=579–82 |doi=10.1002/jcp.21025 |journal=Journal of Cellular Physiology|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The concept behind radionics originated with two books published by American physician Albert Abrams in 1909 and 1910.<ref>''Spinal Therapeutics'' (1909) and ''Spondylotherapy'' (1910). Abrams more definitively launched his pseudoscience, which he called "Electronic Reactions of Abrams", or "ERA", when he published ''New Concepts in Diagnosis and Treatment'' in 1916.</ref> Over the next decade, Abrams became a millionaire by leasing EMT machines, which he designed himself.<ref name=ACS/> This so-called treatment contradicts the principles of physics and biology and therefore is widely considered pseudoscientific.<ref name='radionics_Gale'/> The United States Food and Drug Administration does not recognize any legitimate medical use for radionic devices.<ref name=ACS/><ref name='radionics_Gale'>{{Cite book |first=David |last=Helwig |contribution=Radionics |title=The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine |editor-first=Jacqueline L. |editor-last=Longe |publisher=Gale Cengage |date=December 2004 |isbn=978-0-7876-7424-3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705011820/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0006/ai_2603000616 |archive-date=2012-07-05 |contribution-url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0006/ai_2603000616 |access-date=2008-02-07 }}</ref><ref name=MorrisFishbein>Fishbein, Morris, ''The New Medical Follies'' (1927) Boni and Liverlight, New York, pp. 39–41.</ref>

Several systematic reviews have shown radionics is no more effective than placebo and falls into the category of pseudoscience.<ref name=Basford>{{cite journal |last1=Basford |first1=J.&nbsp;R. |title=A historical perspective of the popular use of electric and magnetic therapy |journal=Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation |date=September 2001 |volume=82 |issue=9 |pages=1261–1269 |doi=10.1053/apmr.2001.25905 |pmid=11552201}} {{open access}}</ref> {{Pseudomedicine sidebar|fringe}}

== History == Beginning around 1909, Albert Abrams (1864–1924) began to claim that he could detect "energy frequencies" in his patients' bodies. The idea was that a healthy person will have certain energy frequencies moving through their body that define health, while an unhealthy person will exhibit other, different energy frequencies that define disorders. He said he could cure people by "balancing" their discordant frequencies and claimed that his devices are sensitive enough that he could tell someone's religion by looking at a drop of blood.<ref name=MorrisFishbein /> He developed thirteen devices and became a millionaire leasing his devices,<ref name=MorrisFishbein /><ref name=Quackwatch /> and the American Medical Association described him as the "dean of gadget quacks".<ref name=Quackwatch>[http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/News/rife.html Article on Royal Rife] at Quackwatch.</ref> His devices were definitively proven useless by an independent investigation commissioned by ''Scientific American'' in 1924.<ref name='radionics_Guardian'/> He used "frequency" not in its standard meaning, but to describe an imputed energy type, which does not correspond to any property of energy in the scientific sense.<ref>{{cite book | last = Smith | first = Crosbie | title = The Science of Energy – a Cultural History of Energy Physics in Victorian Britain | publisher = The University of Chicago Press | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0-226-76420-7}}</ref>

In one form of radionics popularised by Abrams, some blood on a bit of filter paper is attached to a device Abrams called a {{not a typo|"dynamizer"}}, which is attached by wires to a string of other devices and then to the forehead of a healthy volunteer, facing west in a dim light. By tapping on his abdomen and searching for areas of "dullness", disease in the donor of the blood is diagnosed by proxy. Handwriting analysis is also used to diagnose disease under this scheme.<ref name=MorrisFishbein /> Having done this, the practitioner may use a special device known as an oscilloclast or any of a range of other devices to broadcast vibrations at the patient in order to attempt to heal them.<ref name=MorrisFishbein />

Other notable quack devices in radionics have included the Ionaco and the Hieronymus machine.<ref>Holbrook, Stewart. (1959). ''Gaylord Wilshire's I-ON-A-CO''. In ''The Golden Age of Quackery''. Collier Books. pp. 135–144.</ref><ref>Gardner, Martin. (2012 edition, originally published in 1957). ''Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science''. Dover Publications. pp. 347–348. {{ISBN|0-486-20394-8}}.</ref>

Some people claim to have the paranormal or parapsychological ability to detect "radiation" within the human body, which they call '''radiesthesia'''. According to the theory, all human bodies give off unique or characteristic "radiations" as do all other physical bodies or objects. Such radiations are often termed an "aura". Radiesthesia is cited as the explanation of such phenomena as dowsing by rods and pendulums in order to locate buried substances, diagnose illnesses, and the like. Radiesthesia has been described as a mixture of occultism and pseudoscience by critics.<ref>Zusne, Leonard; Jones, Warren H. (2014). ''Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking''. Psychology Press. pp. 109–110. {{ISBN|978-0-805-80508-6}}.</ref>

Modern practitioners conceptualize these devices merely as a focusing aid to the practitioner's proclaimed dowsing abilities, and claim that there is no longer any need for the device to have any demonstrable function. Indeed, Abrams's black boxes had no purpose of their own, being merely obfuscated collections of wires and electronic parts.<ref name='radionics_Guardian'>{{cite news | first=Mark | last=Pilkington | title=A vibe for radionics | date=2004-04-15 | url =https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/apr/15/farout | work =The Guardian | access-date = 2008-02-07 }} ''Scientific American'' concluded: "At best, [ERA] is all an illusion. At worst, it is a colossal fraud."</ref>

Contemporary proponents of radionics or EMT claim that where there is an imbalance of electromagnetic fields or frequencies, within the body, that it causes diseases or other illnesses by disrupting the body's chemical makeup. These practitioners believe that applications of electromagnetic energy from outside the body can correct these imbalances.<ref name=ACS/> Like magnet therapy, electromagnetic therapy has been proposed by practitioners of alternative medicine for a variety of purposes, including, according to the American Cancer Society, "ulcers, headaches, burns, chronic pain, nerve disorders, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, gum infections, asthma, bronchitis, arthritis, cerebral palsy, heart disease, and cancer".<ref name=ACS/>

Another variant of radionics or EMT is '''magnetic resonance therapy'''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Magnetic resonance therapy |work=CamCheck |url=https://www.camcheck.co.za/magnetic-resonance-therapy/ |date=1 June 2017}}</ref>

<gallery> File:Oryg rife.jpg|An original Rife machine from 1922 File:Electro-metabograph machine.jpg|An "Electro-metabograph", an apparatus which supposedly diagnosed and cured diseases by using radio waves </gallery>

== Scientific assessment == The claims for radionic devices contradict the accepted principles of biology and physics. No scientifically verifiable mechanisms of function for these devices has been posited, and they are often described as "magical" in operation. No plausible biophysical basis for the "putative energy fields" has been proposed, and neither the fields themselves nor their purported therapeutic effects have been convincingly demonstrated.<ref name='NCCIH'>{{cite web |url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/backgrounds/energymed.htm |title=Energy Medicine: an overview |access-date=2008-02-09 |publisher=National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health |quote=In the aggregate, these approaches are among the most controversial of CAM practices because neither the external energy fields nor their therapeutic effects have been demonstrated convincingly by any biophysical means.}}</ref>

No radionic device has been found efficacious in the diagnosis or treatment of any disease, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not recognize any legitimate medical uses of any such device.<ref name=ACS/> According to David Helwig in ''The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine'', "most physicians dismiss radionics as quackery".<ref name='radionics_Gale'/>

Internally, a radionic device is very simple and may not even form a functional electrical circuit.<ref name='radionics_Guardian'/> The wiring in the analysis device is simply used as a mystical conduit.<ref name='Franks_hist'>{{cite journal |title=Reflections on the Ether and some notes on the Convergence between Homeopathy and Radionics |journal=Radionic Journal |date=November 2000 |first=Nick |last=Franks |volume=46 |issue= 2|pages=4–21 |url=http://radionic.co.uk/PDFs/Franks_Ether.pdf |access-date=2008-02-09 }}</ref> A radionic device does not use or need electric power, though a power cord may be provided, ostensibly to determine a "base rate" on which the device operates to attempt to heal a subject.<ref name='Scofield'>{{cite web |url=http://radionic.co.uk/PDFs/Mind%20in%20Radionics.pdf |title=The Radionic Principle: Mind over Matter |access-date=2008-02-09 |last=Scofield |first=Tony }}</ref> Typically, little attempt is made to define or describe what, if anything, is flowing along the wires and being measured. Energy in the physical sense, i.e., energy that can be sensed and measured, is viewed as subordinate to intent and "creative action".<ref name='Franks_hist'/>

Claims about contemporary EMT devices are similar to those made by the older generation of "radionics" devices, are also not supported by evidence, and are also pseudoscientific.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stollznow |first1=K. |author-link=Karen Stollznow |title=Hard (Pseudo) Science: The Second Coming of the VIBE Machine |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=29 March 2011 |url=https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/hard_pseudo_science_the_second_coming_of_the_vibe_machine |access-date=16 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mielczarek |first1=E. V. |last2=Araujo |first2=D. C. |title=Power Lines and Cancer, Distant Healing and Health Care: Magnetism Misrepresented and Misunderstood |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=June 2011 |volume=35 |issue=3 |url=https://www.csicop.org/si/show/power_lines_and_cancer_distant_healing_and_health_care_magnetism_misreprese |access-date=16 May 2018}}</ref><ref name=Basford/> Even though some of the early works in bioelectromagnetics have been applied in clinical medicine, the use of electromagnetic energy in mainstream medicine is completely unrelated to alternative devices or methods that use externally applied electrical forces.<ref name=ACS/>

The American Cancer Society says that "relying on electromagnetic treatment alone and avoiding conventional medical care may have serious health consequences". In some cases the devices may be ineffective and harmful.<ref name=ACS>{{cite book |editor1-last=Russell |editor1-first=Jill |editor2-last=Rovere |editor2-first=Amy |title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Cancer Therapies |date=2009 |publisher=American Cancer Society |location=Atlanta, GA |isbn=978-0-944235-71-3 |edition=2nd |chapter=Electromagnetic therapy |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse }} See archived online version [https://web.archive.org/web/20121210093642/http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/ManualHealingandPhysicalTouch/electromagnetic-therapy here], last updated April 18, 2011. Magnet therapy is related; see chapter in ACS book just referenced and [https://web.archive.org/web/20121112145357/http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals archived ACS page] on that, last updated November 1, 2008.</ref>

=== Reviews === Several systematic reviews have shown EMT is not a useful therapy: * In 2009 no significant difference from control was found for management of pain or stiffness for osteoarthritis.<ref name="vavken">{{cite journal |last1=Vavken |first1=P. |last2=Arrich |first2=F. |last3=Schuhfried |first3=O. |last4=Dorotka |first4=R. |title=Effectiveness of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy in the management of osteoarthritis of the knee: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |journal=Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine |date=May 2009 |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=406–411 |doi=10.2340/16501977-0374 |pmid=19479151|doi-access=free }}</ref> * In 2011 a systematic literature review on the use of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMT) body mats used in a wide range of conditions found insufficient evidence for them to be recommended and recommended further high‐quality, double‐blind trials.<ref name="hug">{{cite journal |last1=Hug |first1=K. |last2=Röösli |first2=M. |title=Therapeutic effects of whole-body devices applying pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF): A systematic literature review |journal=Bio Electro Magnetics |date=21 September 2011 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=95–105 |doi=10.1002/bem.20703 |pmid=21938735|s2cid=20522896 }}</ref> * In 2014 insufficient for the efficacy of EMT as a therapy for urinary incontinence.<ref name="lim">{{cite journal |last1=Lim |first1=R. |last2=Lee |first2=S. W. H. |last3=Tan |first3=P. Y. |last4=Liong |first4=M. L. |last5=Yuen |first5=K. H. |title=Efficacy of electromagnetic therapy for urinary incontinence: A systematic review |journal=Neurourology and Urodynamics |date=22 September 2014 |volume=34 |issue=8 |pages=713–722 |doi=10.1002/nau.22672 |pmid=25251335|s2cid=46354331 }}</ref> * In 2014 EMT was found to have no difference from control for stimulation of bone growth in acute fractures.<ref name="Hannemann">{{cite journal |last1=Hannemann |first1=P. F. W. |last2=Mommers |first2=E. H. H. |last3=Schots |first3=J. P. M. |last4=Brink |first4=P. R. G. |last5=Poeze |first5=M. |title=The effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound and pulsed electromagnetic fields bone growth stimulation in acute fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |journal=Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery |date=August 2014 |volume=134 |issue=8 |pages=1093–1106 |pmid=24895156 |doi=10.1007/s00402-014-2014-8|s2cid=23346434 }}</ref> * In 2015 ''Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews'' found no evidence that EMT was useful in healing pressure ulcers<ref name="aziz">{{cite journal |last1=Aziz |first1=Z. |last2=Bell-Syer |first2=S. E. |title=Electromagnetic therapy for treating pressure ulcers |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |date=3 September 2015 |volume=2015 |issue=9 |article-number=CD002930 |pmid=26334539 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD002930.pub6|pmc=7138036 }}</ref> or venous stasis ulcers.<ref name="aziz2">{{cite journal |last1=Aziz |first1=Z. |last2=Cullum |first2=N. |title=Electromagnetic therapy for treating venous leg ulcers |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |date=2 July 2015 |volume=2015 |issue=7 |article-number=CD002933 |pmid=26134172 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD002933.pub6 |url=http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:330800/UQ330800_OA.pdf|pmc=6885063 }}</ref> * A 2016 guideline, in addition to reviews in 2016, 2013 and 2022, did not find EMT useful for various forms of pain.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Côté |first1=P. |last2=Wong |first2=J. J. |last3=Sutton |first3=D. |last4=Shearer |first4=H. M. |last5=Mior |first5=S. |last6=Randhawa |first6=K. |last7=Ameis |first7=A. |last8=Carroll |first8=L. J. |last9=Nordin |first9=M. |last10=Yu |first10=H. |last11=Lindsay |first11=G. M. |last12=Southerst |first12=D. |last13=Varatharajan |first13=S. |last14=Jacobs |first14=C. |last15=Stupar |first15=M. |last16=Taylor-Vaisey |first16=A. |last17=van der Velde |first17=G. |last18=Gross |first18=D. P. |last19=Brison |first19=R. J. |last20=Paulden |first20=M. |last21=Ammendolia |first21=C. |last22=David Cassidy |first22=J. |last23=Loisel |first23=P. |last24=Marshall |first24=S. |last25=Bohay |first25=R. N. |last26=Stapleton |first26=J. |last27=Lacerte |first27=M. |last28=Krahn |first28=M. |last29=Salhany |first29=R. |title=Management of neck pain and associated disorders: A clinical practice guideline from the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration |journal=European Spine Journal |date=July 2016 |volume=25 |issue=7 |pages=20–22 |doi=10.1007/s00586-016-4467-7 |pmid=26984876 |s2cid=4417594 |display-authors=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Kroeling P. |author2=Gross A. |author3=Graham N. |author4=Burnie S. J. |author5=Szeto G. |author6=Goldsmith C. H. |author7=Haines T. |author8=Forget M. |title=Electrotherapy for neck pain |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |issue=8 |article-number=CD004251 |year=2013 |volume=2013 |pmid=23979926 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD004251.pub5|pmc=10696490 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smart |first1=Keith M. |last2=Ferraro |first2=Michael C. |last3=Wand |first3=Benedict M. |last4=O'Connell |first4=Neil E. |date=2022-05-17 |title=Physiotherapy for pain and disability in adults with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) types I and II |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |volume=5 |issue=8 |article-number=CD010853 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD010853.pub3 |issn=1469-493X |pmc=9112661 |pmid=35579382}}</ref>

== EMT devices == The FDA has banned some commercially available EMT devices. In 2008 the VIBE machine from Vibe Technologies had a Class I recall that was completed in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfRes/res.cfm?id=73858 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223221413/https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfRes/res.cfm?id=73858 |archive-date=December 23, 2020 |title=Class 1 Device Recall VIBE |website=www.accessdata.fda.gov |access-date=2018-05-18}}</ref>

Other ineffectual EMT therapy devices that have been marketed include: * "BioResonance Tumor Therapy", developed by Martin Keymer and purported to stimulate the P53 gene to cure cancer.<ref name=ACS/> * "Cell Com System", a device created by Hugo Nielsen that is used on hands and feet to regulate communications between cells in the body.<ref name=ACS/> * "Rife machine", a device created by Royal Rife, which is also known as frequency therapy or frequency generator and marketed as treating cancer.<ref name=ACS/> * "Zapping Machine", a device created by Hulda Regehr Clark, claimed to cure cancer by using low-level electrical current to kill parasites within the body that are supposed to cause cancer.<ref name=ACS/> * "EMP Pad", a device manufactured by EMPPad, advertised by Noel Edmonds, that is claimed to slow ageing, reduce pain, lift depression and stress and tackles cancer.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/pulsed-electromagnetic-field-snake-oil/ |title=Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Snake Oil |date=2016-06-08 |work=Science-Based Medicine |access-date=2018-05-23 |language=en-US}}</ref> * "UVLrx", a device manufactured by UVLrx Therapeutics that provides ultraviolet treatment of blood to treat HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, Dengue fever and Lyme disease, as well as many other conditions.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brittmariehermes/2016/09/26/uvlrx-therapy-charlatans-medical-devices/#529f4212c5d0 |title=UVLrx Therapy Lights Up Charlatans Dealing In Medical Devices |last=Hermes |first=Britt Marie |work=Forbes |access-date=2018-05-23 |language=en}}</ref> * "ReBuilder", a device manufactured by Rebuilder, is claimed to reverse neuropathy (nerve damage) by using tiny electrical signals to wake up nerves.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/recognizing-dubious-health-devices/ |title=Recognizing Dubious Health Devices |date=2008-08-20 |work=Science-Based Medicine |access-date=2018-05-23 |language=en-US}}</ref> * "Electro Physiological Feedback Xrroid (EPFX)", a device manufactured by Desiré Dubounet that is claimed to cure cancer, as well as other serious conditions by sending electromagnetic frequencies into the body.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/how-one-mans-invention-is-part-of-a-growing-worldwide-scam-that-snares-the-desperately-ill/ |title=How one man's invention is part of a growing worldwide scam that snares the desperately ill |date=2007-11-18 |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=2018-05-23 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Notable practitioners == {{collist| * Albert Abrams * Kimberly Bailey * Hulda Regehr Clark * Ruth B. Drown * Desiré Dubounet * Thomas Galen Hieronymus * Georges Lakhovsky * Antoine Prioré * Royal Raymond Rife * Hercules Sanche * George de la Warr * H. A. Morton Whitby }}

== See also == * Biophoton – a term used by EMT proponents * Electropoise * Neuromodulation * Neurostimulation * Psionics * Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy

== References == {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * Stephen Barrett, William T. Jarvis. (1993). ''The Health Robbers: A Close Look at Quackery in America''. Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|0-87975-855-4}}. * Eric Jameson. (1961). [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/003499158 ''The Natural History of Quackery'']. Charles C. Thomas Publisher. * Bob McCoy. (2004). ''Radionics''. In ''Quack!: Tales of Medical Fraud from the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices''. Santa Monica Press. pp.&nbsp;71–94. {{ISBN|1-891661-10-8}}. * James Harvey Young. (1965). ''Device Quackery in America''. ''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'' 39: 154–162.

== External links == * [https://www.quackwatch.org/02ConsumerProtection/eav.html Regulatory Actions related to EMT Devices] – Stephen Barrett M.D. via Quackwatch * [https://www.devicewatch.org/eav/index.shtml Index of EMT Devices] – Stephen Barrett M.D. via devicewatch.org * [http://skepdic.com/radionics.html Radionics] in the Skeptic's dictionary

{{Pseudoscience}} {{Fraud}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Alternative cancer treatments Category:Alternative diagnoses Category:Alternative medical diagnostic methods Category:Alternative medicine Category:Bioelectromagnetic-based therapies Category:Energy therapies Category:Health fraud Category:Pseudoscience