Sports Medicine Fraud
Many people are familiar with alternative medical therapy and use it. Most of these treatments have little research to support their use, but remain popular with the general public. At COAST Rehab Services, we consider it a priority and part of our mission to provide our patients and the public with accurate and up-to-date information, especially with regard to healthcare and sports medicine. We understand that conventional medicine does not appeal to everyone and that alternative treatments can be very useful. The more accurate the information provided, the better people can make decisions regarding their physical therapy.
A recent article in The Sporting News discussed the use of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy. Some professional teams and training centers use these devices in the belief that the healing time (injuries) can be significantly reduced. Several professional hockey teams used hyperbaric oxygen therapy (guessing doses) a decade ago with almost catastrophic results, because they thought it would increase productivity. Hyperbaric oxygen is a treatment regimen in which the patient breathes 100% oxygen at pressures above normal atmospheric (sea level) pressure. During treatment, the patient sits in a closed chamber filled with pure oxygen at high pressure, usually for several hours. The healing power of oxygen under pressure has long been recognized by deep-sea divers suffering from "bends" and other emergency infections and injuries that were treated in hospital. But the FDA did not approve the use of hyperbaric oxygen for the treatment of sports injuries, neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, MS, migraines and strokes, or other diseases such as cancer and AIDS — the target population of patients in this sports medicine is artists. In fact, there is no sound scientific research that supports this use. In addition to the dubious therapeutic value, there are potentially dangerous hazards in hyperbaric therapy (seizures, fires).
Emergencies are difficult to tackle because it takes a few minutes to decompress the camera before anyone can open the door to help the patient. For this and other reasons, the Underwater and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) has a well-recommended recommendation that hyperbaric chambers should be stationary.
Magnetic therapy is the latest rage among athletes who claim that it reduces muscle pain and soreness. It includes wearing small static magnetic disks or sleeping on magnetic mattresses. These magnets are very different from medical devices that generate pulsed electromagnetic fields that have been shown to be effective for treating fractures. In fact, almost all of these magnetic disks do not create a significant magnetic field on the surface of the skin or are not beneficial. Recently, the FDA investigated claims made by companies that sell these magnets, because magnetic disks have not been approved by the FDA for these purposes (which magnets can cure, treat or alleviate any disease or affect any change in the human body). To avoid problems with the FDA, most suppliers emphasize only "comfort" and usually specifically state "no medical claims are made." Many products of magnetic therapy have alternative arrays of the north and south poles (multipole), facing the patient. The “achievement” (penetration) of this magnetic field is weak — at best, a few millimeters. The mechanism most often used for the various therapeutic effects of magnets is to improve blood circulation, which is an apparent lack of evidence for such an effect (and the fact that blood is not magnetic). At present, we have no valid reason to believe that magnets have even more healing power than crystals or copper bracelets.
Like most things in life, if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably so. Sports medicine fraud may simply separate you from your money or threaten your physical well-being. Consult with a physician, physiotherapist or sports medicine specialist before putting your body (and wallet) at risk.
