The magnificent three: previously static stroke patients respond to 3LT (low level laser technology).

For 45 years as a physical therapist, I worked in predominantly orthopedic settings. Only during the last 8 years have I been privy to the use of low level laser technology (3LT). This new use of laser light technology has altered by my thinking and treatment of both orthopedic and neurological cases. Laser treatment has provided an entry to the barrier for the restoration of joint mobility, and assisted in the resetting of the myotomes for strength enhancement. It has further provided for edema and inflammation reduction, and facilitated the neurological system, both peripheral and central, where there is injury and disease.

The 3LT laser is only "new" within the US because the federal government just recently allowed the sales and use of this form of light therapy within the medical community. This technology has been available in and utilized by many countries for decades, with the majority of research and clinical studies performed abroad. There is no question that 3LT will become the modality of choice in physical therapy in the US. To further validate this technology, there is still a need for additional research and clinical outcome studies. Academic and institutional personnel, as well as manufactures, must take a more active interest in such research. Most of the research information thus far appears to be focused on orthopedic and wound healing arenas, with a lack of information for the neurologically challenged. There appears, with a lack of information for the neurologically challenged. There appears to be a serious benefit for use of 3LT application in the neurological affected patients, specifically stroke cases, as described in this article.

My interest in using 3LT was piqued during my part-time work in a small, urual outpatient clinic in Lebanon, Ohio. Within that setting, I treated acute- and chronic-pain patients with mostly neck and back problems, but also other broad-based orthopedic issues. Within the clinic, we had an opportunity to evaluate different lasers from various vendors with all types of medical claims. Of all the different lasers available, only one resulted in consistent positive patient responses including decreased pain, reduced edema, faster joint mobility restoration, and immediate increase in myotome strength: the Erchonia laser. The patients were practically fighting over who got treated with this particular piece of equipment. [Note: This is simply fact; I do not have any allegiance to this company.]

Within that same clinic, I worked with a therapist instructor at the University of Cincinnati, Division of Physical Therapy. Significantly intrigued by what I demonstrated during in-service presentations as well as within the clinical environment, he recruited a faculty colleague to participate in a clinical research project. Unfortunately, they had difficulty getting the manufacturer's cooperation in procuring enough lasers to run the project. Thus the project got scrapped, as typically occurs at many institutions. Such situations can be a deterrent to conducting more clinical trials; institutions are strapped for funding, and assistance from the various manufacturers is paramount to this critical research.

If laser technology is to further define how patients are treated in the physical therapy profession, several critical issues must be considered. For it to be viewed as more than a "black box," additional Western research and outcome studies are paramount. In addition, some of the present devices marketed as laser technology are actually LEDS (light emitting diodes), not true lasers. These LEDS claim the same benefits as the diode laser, but they do not produce coherence in their light, are not frequency specific, and lack the therapeutic wavelength spectrum that most research supports to be molecularly beneficial. Thus future research must separate these two types of equipment so that results are not skewed.

Other issues that will affect clinical outcome studies also need to be addressed. For example, some manufacturers claim that their equipment is more beneficial because it has more power--a claim contrary to current research. Lastly, set therapeutic protocols must be followed as specifically outlined by the manufacturer. The technique, or "art," of application is paramount to gaining valid and accurate clinical results. Too often, clinicians take a laser and attempt to apply the technology with a patient without following protocol. After failing to achieve the anticipated outcomes, the clinician concludes that the laser is ineffective. In using this particular device, I noted that it was "technique sensitive." To achieve consistent clinical results and carryover from one visit to the next, the clinician must follow the recommended treatment protocol.

Over the past 8 years, I have read and spoken to practitioners who refute any clinical relevance and/or benefit with this technology. Many experts have even said that you might as well shine a flashlight on these patients because it will, at best, only produce a placebo effect. After many years of believing that traditional medicine and outcome studies are important, I find that medicine remains a humbling experience and profession. When we think we know something, Mother Nature and God tell us we are only beginning to unravel the mysteries that still lie ahead.

After considerable research in this field, I have come to the following conclusions. Low level laser therapy is growing rapidly, and there is no consensus on the therapeutic mechanisms involved. Most research reported is in non-English books and journals. A tremendous amount of research has come from Russia, but it has been ignored by the West because the studies on light failed to meet the pharmacological paradigm within Western medicine.

I paraphrase the research of James Oschman. (1) He helped me to understand why I use the piece of equipment that assisted in the three case studies that I will be presenting.

Alexander Gurwitsch showed photonic interactions and, with other researchers such as Herbert Frolich, Fritz-Albert Popp, Guenter Albrecht-Buehler, Mae-Won Ho, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Ilya Priogogine, Albert Einstein, and Oschman, put into perspective how the neurobiological application of the Erchonia laser works. These researchers concluded that cells within the human body, and the body as a whole, both emit and absorb coherent biophotons. These photonic emissions and absorptions play key roles in the regulation of cellular and physiological processes, including the healing of injured tissue and disease. Optimal results with light therapy take place when light is of low intensity (does not heat tissue), is pulsed on and off, and is short in duration.

In 1938, Gurwitsch found that absorption of a living cell by a photon with energy around 5 eV initiates mitosis and that certain frequencies positively increase mitogenetic effects. (2) The efficiency of photon movement significantly increases if irradiation of the cell is intermittent or oscillatory. This provided the biological basis for the therapeutic use of different pulsation frequencies provided in some lasers. With respect to resonance pulsation, the Erchonia has this unique quality, and the work of Royal Rife assisted in establishing clinical frequencies that are presently being utilized. (3)

By the 1950s, Colli and Facchini in Milan, Italy, were the first in the West to use photomultipliers to confirm Gurwitsch's discoveries. (4) The next key element was the belief that living things emit biophotons in a spectral range of 390 to 650 nm from infrared to ultraviolet range, including the visible wavelengths. Presently, the Erchonia wavelength is 635 nm.

When it came to force, initially Newton's laws of motion were the preponderant driving force of kinematics. Linear systems respond to large stimuli. Many laser companies profess that this is more effective than the low level laser. However, living systems respond to tiny stimuli provided by 3LT in a nonlinear manner. This is supported by the Arndt-Schultz law and Prigogine's 1977 Nobel-Prize winning award. (5) Her work began to show that nonlinear thermodynamics explained the behavior of highly ordered structures found in biological systems. Thus, 3LT can produce significant biological effects without heating the tissue, and these responses can produce an avalanche or chain reaction within the whole body.

Next came the development of quantum physics and the work of Szent-Gyorgyi, who helped researchers to understand how the body processes electric excitation and how it differs from biochemistry and molecular biology. (6) In 1973, a major symposium was put together regarding the interest in the "energy crisis." Out of this came quantum coherence, a physical mechanism for the accumulation, storage, and rapid mobilization of energy within living things. This was huge because many so-called LED lasers on the market do not have this physical quality of coherent light amplification. However, the Erchonia does possess this quality.

Following Szent-Gyorgyi's important work came that of Satyendra Bose and Einstein on the behavior of particles within the same energetic state. (7) This accounted for the cohesive streaming of laser light and the frictionless creeping of superfluids in helium. Frolich was a huge proponent of the Bose-Einstein behavior model and realized under appropriate conditions that the molecular arrays in the cell membrane should vibrate in unison, or coherently. (8) Through quantum physics, he predicted that these collective vibrations would be in the frequency of light. In 1996, Ho pointed out that a high degree of molecular order is found in cell membranes, which are in the form of liquid crystals and act as semiconductors . (9) He later developed techniques for visually confirming the movement of coherent energy in the intact organism.

Adey and Bawin in 1977 showed that weak electric interactions and magnetic fields exist within brain interactions. (10) Their study was published in the Neurosciences Research Program Bulletin, and may explain why my work with current stroke cases has begun to bring about neurological improvement where patients have plateaued for months prior.

Popp started the first modern era of biophotonic research from 1974 in Germany. (11), (14) His work over the next 30 years showed that:

1. living systems absorb and emit coherent biophotons;

2. biophotons range in wavelength from 200 to 800 nm;

3. the light produced by living organisms is highly organized and is a biological laser;

4. main storage sites appears to be in the DNA cell membrane;

5. the DNA molecules throughout the organism are linked systemwide and are part of a unifying coherent radiation field.

Albrecht-Buehler's work in the '90s proved that cells have intelligence. (12), (13) Cell movement is not random but purposeful, carefully orchestrated, and responsive to signals of red to infrared range. Further studies suggest that the cellular infrared detector resides at the cell center within the centrosome, and contains centrioles that are light sensors. Albrecht-Buehler concluded that cells have eyes. These eyes are linked via cytoplasmic nerves (microtubules) to a sophisticated processing system, or the brain of the cell, which in turn is linked to the movement control system of the cell. This is further described in Oschman's text Energy Medicine in Therapeutics and Human Performance, when he discusses the transmission system via the connective tissue matrix. (15)

In summation, this synopsis of research has provided me a basis for applying the laser technology and a foundation for understanding why I achieve my current results. Laser light appears to stimulate the cell-to-cell communication in a manner that triggers cell migration and improves cell division. Laser light can stimulate photonic action of an injury without damaging other tissues. This flow of energy reestablishes and helps reorganize the injured or impaired system. The laser light opens up and facilitates the operational biophotonic pathways. Now it will be up to the academic gurus to take the challenge of quantum coherence in living systems and prove the current findings that we clinicians recognize. These scientific research challenges coupled with outcome studies will take physical therapy to the next level in treating myriad injuries and diseases.

Case Studies

At this time, there is nothing published clinically using 3LT and/ or specifically the Erchonia laser in the treatment of stroke patients. These case studies will report both clinical findings and treatment responses. There are some common denominators that seemed to be consistent in these three isolated cases:

1. Prior to treatment intervention with the laser, all three cases had appeared to be static in the rehab process for three months or more.

2. Each stroke was resultant of a hemorrhage, and one of those cases was from an A-V malformation.

3. Two of the three cases had insults three years prior, but after extensive rehabilitation still had significant balance issues.

4. All cases had brain balance issues and illustrated significant weaknesses within the 12 cranial nerves, and two cases had significant cerebellum issues.

5. All had some residual motor weakness in the upper and lower extremities, but only one case has significant spasticity acting as an impediment for motor return.

6. Two of the three had significant involvement of the vestibular portion of the 8th cranial nerve.

Case 1

D. O. is a 69-year-old female who collapsed three years ago while playing golf. She had such a massive bleed that the treating physician predicted only a 10% chance of survival. Decompression craniotomy and surgery were performed to stabilize the bleed. She was in a coma for months and then awoke with flaccid paralysis of the right side and complete aphasia. This patient was in intensive rehab for three years and had achieved a remarkable recovery in all aspects of motor function and significant return of motor speech and communication. When I first met D. O., her biggest complaint was her memory loss, severe balance issues, and the concern that she would never be able to play golf again.

When she walked into my home, her gait was very unsteady, but she was not using any assistive devices. She could not walk up or climb stairs reciprocally, and she banged off the staircase walls while ascending to the treatment room. Her speech was still somewhat slow and disarticulate at times. She had difficulty with short-and long-term memory. Evaluation of her 12 cranial nerves demonstrated the following weaknesses measured kinesiologically in olfactory, taste, facial, vestibular portion of auditory, and spinal accessory. Standing balance with eyes closed elicited a positive Rhomberg response with a right parietal drift. Cerebellar weakness was present on the right with lack of symmetry keeping the right arm level to 90 [degrees], not related to any strength issue. Finger-to-nose, adiadochokinesia, and Trendelenburg tests were all abnormal to a moderate degree on the right. When I tested the vestibular portion of the auditory nerve, there was instability in all positions. Her sitting balance was solid and stable. In the quadruped position, she was stable, but when asked to move to an alternate two-point position she couldn't maintain balance. When asked to return from all fours to knee-standing, there was moderate instability. When rising to full standing, she required assistance on the right side.

I treated D. O. that same day using recommended settings of the Erchonia laser.- Using exposure levels of 30 to 90 seconds per task, I went through and reset all 12 cranial nerves. I proceeded to reset the parietal portion of the brain and the cerebellum, and lastly isolated the vestibular nerve. When we completed this sequence, the patient's balance had improved dramatically towards normal. She was able to walk up and down the stairs reciprocally without any assistance. She could also repeat the Rhomberg, Trendelenburg, and other cerebellar tests without a hitch.

D. O. was treated a total of five times to reinforce and build up the weak areas noted on the initial visit. On the sixth visit, she was treated on the driving range. At that time, I used the laser over the cerebellum prior to her teeing up the ball and making a complete swing. She was as stable as a rock! This patient is now back playing golf full time. I see her monthly just to facilitate and reinforce the cerebellum and 8th cranial nerve. As a side note, her smell and taste faculties have also significantly improved. There is no question that her improvement was due to 3LT technology. The facilitation of the cranial nerves, cerebellum, and cortex reenergized those injured cells and tracts that were lying dormant. Remember that this treatment was provided three years postincident and long-term rehab.

Case 2

K. R. incurred an insult with a cranial bleed on June 20, 2008. She is 52 years old and was in impeccable physical condition prior to the insult, She weighs approximately 100 pounds and has a trim, muscular build. She underwent cranial decompression and repair of vessels in the left parietal region. I saw her in October 2008, and she was ambulatory with a straight cane and utilizing a short leg brace to stabilize the right ankle. There was moderate spasticity with flexor synergy present in the right upper extremity with no functional capability, and there was a strong extensor thrust synergy in the right lower extremity. Her gait was circumduction in nature with no isolated control other than what was provided by the extensor synergy. Speech was a mixed aphasia with expressive issues. Her two main goals at that time were (1) to walk without the use of a short leg brace and cane, and (2) to improve her speech so she that could communicate as before her insult. She had had three months of intensive physical therapy, but none of the therapists had really taken her through a neurological development sequence. Most of the therapy consisted of passive and active assistive exercises performed in cardinal planes.

When evaluating K. R,, I noted her remarkable balance considering the fact that she had severe sensory and kinesthetic impairment on the affected side. Once again, I evaluated the 12 cranial nerves and determined that weaknesses existed in the following areas: Olfactory and taste were severely impacted. Optic was strong, but abducens was weak on the right. Oculomotor showed some weakness on the right, perhaps 20%, but the trochlear was unimpaired. Trigeminal was strong in the motor branch but the sensory, V1, V2, and V3 were impaired. Facial nerve was weak around the mouth, nose and eye. Auditory was strong in both components. Vagus was impaired in the motor division approximately 30%, but not the sensory portion. Spinal accessory nerve affecting the scapulae had major involvement and minimal motor function. Hypoglossal was unimpaired.

Daily treatment was initiated at the request of the patient and has been followed for six weeks. Each time treatment was initiated by resetting all 12 cranial nerves and then proceeding into prone symmetrical and asymmetrical patterning. Over time, elements of rolling, crawling (with assistance), therapeutic ball, and gait training with stairs have been added. D1 and D2 patterns with the upper and lower extremities have been implemented using unilateral and bilateral reciprocal neurofacilitation techniques. During patterning, either her aide or spouse applies the laser to the affected portion of the brain.

Once neuropath ways of the brainstem involving the cranial nerves are facilitated, the other pathways driven by the motor cortex appear to be recruited. In turn, there has been motor return to the involved lower extremity and shoulder girdle. Through the stimulation of the brain stem by laser facilitation, the speech center has also been positively influenced; she also has made unbelievable strides in this area.

To date, we have met one of her major goals, since she is out of her short leg brace and uses a cane sparingly. She can ambulate independently, can now traverse stairs reciprocally, and is stable. The strong extensor pattern has been mitigated with return in the motor portion of the anterior and lateral compartments of the right lower leg. She has active reciprocal flexion/ extension in the hip, knee, and ankle and has essentially eliminated the circumducted gait initially present. It still shows up periodically when she tires. There are still some spastic tone level issues; however, they have reduced in intensity. Recently, she has developed a stage 1 reflex sympathetic pain problem in the right ankle. Thus far, the laser has not been effective in mitigating this issue. She is going to have a lumbar sympathetic block to see if this will assist with the pain mitigation.

In the upper extremity, the spinal accessory has improved to the extent that the scapulae function is now 60% motor return and the shoulder girdle 50%. Beyond the elbow, there are only trace elements of motor activity. The spasticity levels drop postpatterning with laser facilitation, which results in concomitant tone decrease. The anticipated carryover has yet to occur.

All areas of the 12 cranial nerves have shown marked improvement to where there are only trace weaknesses in each except smell and taste. These two nerves are more related to the association part of the brain than the patient's ability to define the actual stimuli.

This significant improvement once again can be attributed to the 3LT facilitation, which was instrumental in allowing K, R, to overcome the plateau she had experienced and to progress in her fight to regain normalcy.

Case 3

K. D. is a 46-year-old female who had three severe insults to her brain. The bleeds she experienced were from A-V malformations. The patient not only had surgical intervention to correct the vascular compromise but had a shunt implemented after radiation was performed to also assist in the correction of an A-V malformation problem that could not be corrected with the usual surgical preferences. The total involvement resulted in bilateral hemisphere and cerebellum brain compromise.

My first encounter with this patient was in early October 2008. She was severely neurological1y compromised and had extreme adrenal fatigue. There was moderate bilateral hemiparesis with athetoidlike movements of all extremities and moderate tremors, both resting and intentional types. Any type of physical activity had to be modulated to take into consideration the adrenal fatigue, limiting her tolerance to exercise. There was very poor trunk and pelvic girdle strength and control. She could stand with maximum support, but had poor sitting balance. She basically had to be wedged into a chair to avoid falling out of it. Head and neck posture was dysfunctional. She carried her head in a flexed-downward left-rotated position. Eye tracking was nonexistent. The eyes were going every which way (i.e., nystagmus). Her poor facial expression was almost masklike. However, she was extremely cognizant of her environment and surroundings and knew everything being said to her.

The following were the major cerebellar signs that she demonstrated:

1. Severe ataxia was present to where she could not maintain an upright stance due to lack of muscle symmetry within the extremities and core muscles.

2. There was severe decompensation of movement on the left side more than the right.

3. Dysmetria was more prominent on the left side than the right.

4. Dysdiadochokinesia was more severe on the left than the right.

5. Asthenia was present on the left side and would grade out to average-fair in strength compared with the right side that would be average fair-plus.

6. Tremors were moderate to severe bilaterally.

7. Nystagmus was present in both eyes.

8. Speech dysarthria due to muscle asynergy was present to a moderate to severe degree.

As in the other two case studies, the 12 cranial nerves had considerable involvement.

Specifically, the optic was involved with convergence and double vision. Surprisingly, in K. D.'s case, her smell and taste were intact. Oculomotor, abducens, and trochlear were substantially compromised. Facial was weak on the right, but the trigeminal was weak on the left, though only to the magnitude of 20%. The motor portion of vagus was moderate to severely compromised, as was the phrenic nerve to the diaphragm. Glossopharyngeal and hypoglossal nerves were minimally affected.

Treatment was initiated, and the progress over the next 6 weeks was amazing. During each visit, we followed the same set protocol by using the Erchonia laser to facilitate the 12 cranial nerves. The improvement in them served as a platform on which to build further motor coordination and enhance the neuro program. We proceeded to focus on the cerebellum and the parietal cortex, resetting the myotomes in the cervical spine, upper extremities, pelvic girdle, and lower extremities, in that order. On days myotomes were not set, patterning prone and supine (both symmetrical and asymmetrical), rolling, crawling, and all fours to knee-standing and then standing were introduced. Resistive stimulation was continued to further facilitate the trunk muscles in the sitting, knee-standing, and full-standing positions. Laser facilitation was implemented as much as possible, depending upon the treatment activity and positions.

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Results: K. D. can now sit independently, flex at the waist, touch the floor, and return under good control. She can sit, side-bend, and rotate under good control. Her head position has remarkably improved symmetry, and at times she sits with normal symmetry with a normal smiling face and expression. Her eyes are tracking almost normally with minimal signs of weakness and no evidence of nystagmus. Some double vision at various distances Is still disconcerting to the patient and plays a role in balance control when standing. This has improved with the implementation of prism glasses. The vagus and the influence from the cerebellum on the muscles of speech are improving daily, and when speaking slowly she is capable of reasonably good enunciation and clarity. There is still room for improvement. The spinal accessory nerve has shown market improvement in head, neck, and shoulder girdle strength and symmetry. She can now take both arms over her head into the "hostage position" and open/close her hands in an improved coordinated manner.

Integration among the vestibular portion of cranial nerve 8, cerebellum, and motor cortex is still in need of considerable work. However, the adiadochokinesia movement pattern and finger-to-nose is performed with markedly improved strength and symmetry. The strength in the extremities has now moved from fair to good range. Functionally, she can now brush her hair with the right upper extremity and use an electric toothbrush. Sitting to standing is almost independent, while standing requires still slight to moderate balance assistance. Once she becomes collected when standing, she can execute independent side bending and rotational movements without falling. Using the slide walker, she can now walk 10 to 15 feet with slight to moderate guarding assistance. There is still considerable room for improvement, since she needs further coordination of the lower extremities combined with pelvic girdle control and more back extensor strength. The goal is to have this patient walking in a walker with minimum guarding assistance by the end of spring.

This case, as the others, would not have progressed to the magnitude that occurred without the use of the 3LT, to stimulate and facilitate the neuropathways and to reenergize the damaged neurobiology.

Summary

These three stroke patients have benefited from the use of 3LT stimulation. Their progress had stagnated prior to this intervention. A brief synopsis of the neurophysics and biology of this technology has been provided, as well as the clinical results that could not have been accomplished without 3LT technology. Having practiced in the field of manual orthopedics and sports medicine for most of my 45 years in the field of physical therapy, I hope that I can make Sara Semens, world-known in the treatment of people with neurological disorders, proud after all these years. I hope that these three studies inspire others to follow my lead in the implementation of 3LT technology. I wish to thank my mentor, Joe Kleinkort, PT, PhD, for his valuable instruction in how to apply the correct laser treatment protocol. It is critical for clinicians using 3LT technology to remember that it is technique-sensitive. With this in mind, skeptics and academicians must proceed with more scientific and clinical research. As a result of such work, physical therapy will be blessed with a wonderful and efficacious modality. The boundaries are endless.

Notes

(1.) Oschman JL. Energy Medicine; The Scientific Basis, 2nd ed. St. Louis; Elsevier Limited; 2006,

(2.) Gurwitsch AG, Gurwitsch LD. Mitogenic Radiation. Trans. Voeikov V, Beloussov L. Leningrad: All-Union Institute of Experimental Medicine Publishing House; 1934, A translation of the great Russian biologists' review of the discovery and development of mitogenetic radiation. First published in English as an appendix to the proceedings of the International AG Gurwitsch Conference, Biophotonics: Non-Equilibrium and Coherent Systems in Biology, Biophysics, Biotechnology; Sept, 28-Oct 2, 1994. Moscow: Bioform; 1995, Originally published in Uspekhi Sovremenoi Biologii (Advances in Contemporary Biology). 1943;16(3):305-3 34. Also reproduced in Biophotonics, 1995.

(3.) Stenulson B. Beneficial, ''normalizing," and stimulating frequencies. 2009, http;//stenulson. net/althealth/stimfreq.htm.

(4.) Colli L, Facchini U. Light emission by germinating plants. Nuovo Cimento. 1954; 12:150-153.

(5.) Prigogine I. Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics. New York: Wiley Interscience; 1962.

(6.) Szent-Gyorgyi A. Energy migration in organized biological systems. Introductory paper. Discussions of the Faraday Society. 1959;27:1121-1140.

(7.) Bose SN. Plancks Gesetz and Lichquantenhypothese. Zwitschift fur physik. 1924;26:178-181.

(8.) Frolich H. Long range coherence and energy storage in biological systems. Int J Quantum Chem II. 1968: 641-649.

(9.) Ho M-W, Haffegee J, Newton R, Zhou Y-m, Bolton JS, Ross S. Organisms as polyphasic liquid crustals. Bioelectrochem Bioenerg. 1996;41:81-91.

(10.) Oschman JL. Energy Medicine in Therapeutics and Human Performance. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2006.

(11.) Adey WR, Bawin SM. Brain interactions with weak electric and magnetic fields. Neurosci Res Program Bul. 1977'15(1):1-129.

(12.) Popp F-A. Coherent photon storage of biological system. In: Popp F-A, Becker G, Konig HL, Peschka W, eds. Electromagnetic Bio-Information. Proceedings of the symposium, Marburg, Sept. 5, 1977. Urban & Schwarzenbeg, Munchen-Wien-Baltimore. 1979.

(13.) Albrecht-Buehler G. Cellular infrared detector appears to be contained in the centrosome. Cell Motil Cytoskeleton. 1994;27(3):262-271.

(14.) Popp F-A, Nagal W. Biophoton emission: new evidence for coherence and DNA as source. Cell Biophys. 1984;6:33-52.

Larry Bertolucci is a 1967 graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, Physical Therapy. After graduating, he owned and operated a sports medicine and orthopedic physical therapy practice for over 30 years. In addition to private practice, he served as adjunct faculty to the University of Texas, Galveston and California University at Sacramento Physical Therapy Schools. Mr. Bertolucci has performed and published numerous clinical research and has taught postgraduate courses domestically and internationally in the field of head, neck, and facial pain. Prior to retirement, he was credited for inventing the "Relief Band," which he has numerous patents and 510-K approvals for the suppression of nausea and vomiting. This invention lead to the formation of a start-up biotechnology company. He is currently semiretired and resides in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

Lawrence E. Bertolucci

272 Savannah Drive

Pawleys Island, South Carolina 29585

843-314-3147

[e-mail]

by Lawrence E. Bertolucci, PT, MA