Pain Relief

SCENAR: Self-Controlled Energo Neuro Adaptive Regulation.

What is SCENAR?

SCENAR refers to both a specific technology and a small, portable handheld device. The SCENAR device administers the SCENAR technology.

What conditions can SCENAR treat?

While the FDA has approved SCENAR for muscle reeducation, biofeedback, and the treatment of pain, Russian physicians have long used SCENAR to treat virtually all organ systems: musculoskeletal, nervous, digestive, pulmonary, cardiovascular, etc. Russian experience demonstrates SCENAR effectiveness in close to 90% of all patients treated, with full healing noted in two out of every three patients, and significant improvement and recovery in the rest.

SCENAR Certification

SCENAR has long been used and certified in Europe for a wide variety of indications. In the United States, SCENAR was originally registered with and approved by the FDA as a biofeedback device for muscle reeducation and biofeedback. Most recently, on May 28, 2010, the FDA approved the SCENAR device for pain relief.

Where can I learn more about SCENAR?

For more information, visit www.scenarhealth.us.

SCENAR was originally developed for the Russian space program (Soyuz) in the late 1970’s. You may recall that at that time, the Russian cosmonaut missions were generally much longer than those of their U.S. counterparts. Being in space for prolonged periods created unique logistical dilemmas for the Russians, including that of maintaining a safe (and obviously recycled) water supply. If any cosmonaut was taking medication, how could that medication be removed from the water supply so as to not affect the rest of the team? To address this conundrum, a special division was created within Soyuz. The result: SCENAR.

Under the direction of electronics experts Alexander Karasev and Alexander Nechushkin, and in collaboration with physician-neurologist Alexander Revenko, the goal was to create some form of technology that could effectively treat a number of acute and chronic medical concerns without the need for medication. To meet the rigorous demands of space travel, the device needed to be:

• small and light-weight
• battery-operated
• able to operate in the vacuum of space
• incredibly versatile

The technology that emerged was SCENAR, an energy-efficient, portable, non-invasive device with a myriad of applications. This special team of scientists and physicians were the first to develop a device capable of generating electromagnetic signals to stimulate the neuro-endocrine-immune system. The device, quite understandably, was kept a highly classified military secret until the 1990s. Then, under Perestroika (Mr. Gorbachev’s policies of economic, political, and social restructuring) and during the breakup of the Soviet Union into a number of its constituent republics, the inventors of the device applied for and received patents for SCENAR. Shortly thereafter, SCENAR was introduced and made available to western nations. In 1986, SCENAR received approval of the USSR Medical Council (that nation’s FDA), and ever since has been widely used in Soviet, and now Russian, hospitals.

To survive, the body is constantly adapting to change, continuously regenerating itself, and forever striving to maintain homeostasis, its own internal integrity. For the most part, it accomplishes these demanding tasks with amazing efficiency. In the face of constant and accumulating stress, however, sometimes the body breaks down. It’s ability to adapt, to regenerate, and to maintain its integrity fails. The result? Dysfunction: infection, inflammation, and injury. To recover, somehow, someway, the body needs to re-integrate. Misfiring, mal-functioning, damaged neuro-endocrine-immune connections need to be coaxed back to normal, no … OPTIMAL, function.

And this is where SCENAR fits in. Generating a tiny electromagnetic field (EMF), the SCENAR device, in direct contact with the skin, stimulates the body’s own healing ability. Simultaneously, through real-time biofeedback, it continuously monitors the body’s response to its signals and modifies each successive signal to reestablish homeostasis (i.e., integrity) on the cellular level. During this process, there is constant dialogue connecting device, skin, and nervous system.

When the body malfunctions (due to injury, disease, toxicity, inflammation, emotional stress, etc.), it tends, over time, to become accustomed to that stable pathological state. The SCENAR impulse interrupts this stability by stimulating the C-fibers of the nervous system. These C-fibers, which comprise about 85% of the nervous system, produce a number of neuropeptides and other important regulatory messengers. When stimulated by an appropriate EMF, these messengers stimulate the body’s own healing cascade and move it back toward a state of integrity and health. Once sparked, these peptides circulate for several hours, meaning the healing process continues long after any single treatment session is over. Moreover, they effect more than the body’s acute response to illness or injury, and have far reaching effects involving behavioral issues (depression, anxiety, insomnia, impulsiveness, etc.).

Eastern medicine (Chinese, Japanese, etc.) is very different from Western medicine. While doctors in the West tend to break the body down into its constituent systems (Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Gastrointestinal, Endocrine, etc.), Eastern practitioners tend to view the body as a whole. Moreover, Eastern medicine tends to understand that energy lies at the very heart of wholeness and wellness, and has developed a keen understanding of the way in which the body functions on an energetic (Westerners would say “electromagnetic”) level. Acupuncture is a direct application of that understanding. That said, SCENAR represents an exciting linking of East and West.

The biofeedback mechanism of SCENAR works along acupuncture “meridians” (i.e., energy fields”), neurological zones (“dermatomes”), and directly on local spinal reflexes. In doing so, SCENAR focuses the body’s neuro-endocrine-immune healing response directly on the area of acute or chronic disease, be it inflammation, illness, or injury.

How can applying a device to the skin influence the nervous system? Fascinating question! The answer: Our skin and our nervous system develop from the same embryological cellular/tissue layer. What affects one naturally affects the other. The result: By applying the SCENAR device directly on the skin, we influence the workings of the nervous system. And since the nervous system is actually just one part of the interconnected neuro-endocrine-immune system, we affect a whole lot more than just the nervous system. We affect healing.

Areas of the skin that are connected to stressed, injured, inflamed, or dysfunctional tissues or organs will demonstrate abnormal electrical-magnetic responses. These abnormal responses are detected by the SCENAR device. In the hands of a trained SCENAR practitioner, these abnormal responses then provide a roadmap to optimal therapy. Using these responses, the SCENAR continuously modifies its signal to gently coax the body toward healing.

The SCENAR device is a small, battery-powered, hand-held instrument with a bipolar electrode. As the device is moved over the skin, patients experience a gentle tingling, stroking, or buzzing sensation. Sometimes there is a sensation of stickiness as the device encounters an area of particular injury or inflammation. At other times, the color of these areas tends to change, often reddening or turning pale. It is not uncommon for old problems and injuries to surface during the course of a session. This is extremely beneficial, as addressing these older, often forgotten injuries, can lead to even further, more complete healing.

How often will I need a session?

For any immediate or acute injury, treatment is best done once or twice daily. Often these injuries only require one or two sessions. Chronic problems often take six or more weeks of treatment, with sessions scheduled two to three times per week. As improvement progresses, the frequency can be reduced. The number, frequency, and duration of treatment sessions all vary significantly from person to person. Factors such as age, overall health, level of physical fitness, lifestyle, and nature of injury all affect the course of treatment.

What conditions can SCENAR treat? While the FDA has approved SCENAR for muscle reeducation, biofeedback, and the treatment of pain, Russian physicians have long used SCENAR to treat virtually all organ systems: musculoskeletal, nervous, digestive, pulmonary, cardiovascular, etc. Russian experience demonstrates SCENAR effectiveness in close to 90% of all patients treated, with full healing noted in two out of every three patients, and significant improvement and recovery in the rest.