Chiropractic History Assignment Continued from Page 20 electricity was just making its way into the average household on a daily basis. There were all manner of health practitioners making all manner of health claims with electrical therapy. It really was “the rage” for a few decades and chiropractors were right in the middle of it.” “The other connection to chiroprac- tic is the role of electricity in the think- ing of D.D. Palmer. He was described as being interested in “animal magnetism,” after studying the work of Anton Mes- mer, whom we often associate – wrongly! – with hypnotism and being “mesmer- ized.” Mesmer’s work was really based on the idea that the vital energy of life was an animal form of electricity that could be exchanged between people in a fashion like magnetism. Palmer interpreted the “animal magnetism” in a quasi-religious fashion, connecting it to the universal intelligence of God. He thought of this intelligence as deriving from God, and being embodied in each of us as “Innate Intelligence” – as in the phrase “spark of life.” He also thought of it as “flowing” in the manner that was being discovered for electricity. He placed the fl ow of this “energy” in the nervous system. He then equated normal, unimpeded flow with good health and fl ow that was interrupted or interfered with as ill health. He identi- fi ed the site of this interference as the spi- nal bones where the nerves exit the spine: this he called “subluxation.” Hence, his healing model was: The removal of sub- luxation – by a chiropractic adjustment – will restore the fl ow of Innate Intelligence and bring good health again!” THE MCINTOSH NO. 2 POLYSINE GENERATOR But what of our polysine generator? It seems to fall squarely into the gen- eral context of the 19th and early 20th- century fascination with all things having to do with electricity. Drs. Warren Jahn and Leanne Cupon of Roswell, Georgia, provide some insight. Dr. Jahn directed me to The Bakken Li- brary and Museum on the Internet.1 The Bakken holds a wealth of information on 18th-century to early 20th-century electrical artifacts including photographs of other McIntosh polysine generators. 24 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | MAY 2008 SO, IS OUR MACHINE A HIGH-FREQUENCY UNIT OR AN INSTRUMENT TO HEAT TISSUES? I asked Dr. Calin Lucaciu in our Anatomy Department to give me his best opinion as an anatomist. McIntosh Polysine Generator Model 1258 Model 1058 is a wall unit dating from between 1910 and 1930. The Model 1258 is a fl oor standing unit dated somewhat later, between 1930 and 1950. (It is re- produced here courtesy of The Bakken Library and Museum, Minneapolis). Our model has a look and feel of something midway between the two Bakken units so maybe a date range of about 1920 to 1930 is reasonable. Dr. Jahn also points out that the Turn of the Century Electrotherapy Museum – also Internet accessible – houses an ex- tensive collection of antique instruments and manuscripts. This museum places its sole McIntosh unit under the general cat- egory of high frequency/diathermy instru- ments dated between 1900-1930.2 Ac- cording to one of these manuscripts, the high frequency current “can be made to produce the most profound physiological effect” including restoring original colour to grey hair, relieving baldness, reducing blood pressure in cases of arteriosclero- sis and “is being successfully used in the reduction of superfluous fl esh.” For the faint-hearted, the authors hasten to add that “the patient has been brightened up, given added vigor and cheerfulness, and in fact, has exhibited all the favorable effects of a powerful tonic without sustaining any of the unfavorable after effects of a stimulant.”3 Diathermy, on the other hand, is a method of heating tissue electromag- netically or ultrasonically for therapeutic He tells me: “This machine seems to be some sort of primitive hybrid Transcuta- neous Electrical Nerve Stimulator (TENS)/ Electrical Muscle Stimulator (EMS) unit. Considering the various electrical com- ponents, I would suggest that the device was used as an electric muscle stimula- tor, or pain-killing device, or possibly a hybrid used for both applications. At the beginning of the 20th century, an electri- cal device named Electreat was relatively popular and was used for pain control. The modern version of this instrument is the TENS unit and consists of a small transformer, a pulse generator, frequency and intensity controls and a number of electrodes – similar to our polysine unit. Alternatively, the polysine machine may be an early EMS device used as alternative therapy for muscle atrophy.” CURRENT APPLICATION OF SINE WAVES Current medical applications of sine waves include use in modified electroconvulsive therapy in Japan4 vivo electro-gene transfer.5 and in experimental in As recently as Perhaps coincidentally, the com- pany appears to be no longer in business. At least it no longer has a current web presence. So, is the use of sine waves a modern therapeutic modality or is this a bit of 21st- century snake oil? Are you in the personal acquaintance of one of the many “Olym- pic Gold Medalists” who make use of this therapy? You tell me: [email protected].• References: To view this article with references please visit www.canadianchiropractor.ca. www.canadianchiropractor.ca 2006 a company in the United States was promoting sine wave massage therapy for sports-related applications and for relieving anxiety, reducing discomfort and increasing circulation. Apparently, “a number of European countries make this technology available to their Olympic training centers and it has been used to advantage by many Olympic Gold Med- alists.”6 purposes and is commonly used for mus- cle relaxation. Photo courtesy The Bakken Library and Museum, Minneapolis
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