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"The
ReBuilder® System: Effective Treatment for
Neuropathy and Chronic Pain"
- A Monograph by Inventor
David B.
Phillips, Ph. D.
The
ReBuilder® Treatment System is designed to be
simple to use in the home or in the physician’s office, is
non-invasive, safe, effective, affordable, is registered
with the FDA, and is covered by many insurance plans. The
ReBuilder® unit has simple to use controls, uses electrode
pads that are placed directly on the bottoms of both feet or
on the affected body part. It has no interaction with, nor
does it interfere with, any medications the patient may be
taking. Having a much more powerful electrical impulse than
that of the human body, the ReBuilder® re-polarizes and
re-educates the nerves to follow the correct paths. It also
enables nerve impulses to jump the synaptic junction,
reconnect the injured nerve cells, and deliver minerals and
nutrients which revitalize those nerves. When this is
accomplished, it promotes new nerve growth, restores blood
circulation, returns feeling to the patient’s extremities,
and reduces pain. In many cases the ReBuilder® actually
reverses neuropathy and chronic pain symptoms and restores
nerves to their normal state allowing them to fully function
on their own reducing the need for medications.
Neuropathy
and chronic pain: The Condition
Neuropathy and
chronic pain is characterized
by pain, numbness, loss of tactile feedback, and poor tissue
perfusion. These symptoms may indicate that oxygen is not
getting to all the cells causing dysfunction.
Because the patient’s quality
of life is decreased, these results are often devastating.
Pain medications do not cure the condition; it only helps
mask it and, eventually, leads to complications with adverse
side effects such as mental confusion and intestinal
problems.
As a result of conducting our own research and reviewing
published studies from around the world, we have been led to
new models concerning the causes of neuropathy and chronic
pain. We have concluded that it is not reasonable to merely
label neuropathy and chronic pain symptoms as diabetic,
peripheral, vascular, or "idiopathic". What is needed is a
more full understanding of the etiology of the condition so
new technology can be brought to bear with both ameliorative
and therapeutic benefits.

Figure 1: Anatomy of a
nerve cell
Neuropathy and
chronic pain results when
nerve signal propagation is reduced between adjacent nerve
cells due to insufficient oxygen being available to support
nerve cell metabolism. This is responsible for 90% of all
neuropathy and chronic pain cases. The remaining 10% is
caused by physical trauma. Thus it appears that the
main precipitating factor for neuropathy and chronic pain is
hypoxia and demineralization of the synaptic fluid
which creates shrinkage of the nerve cells which widens the
gap between these cells making it more difficult for normal
sensations to propagate, and loss of electrical conductivity
in the synaptic fluid itself.
A temporary hypoxia of nerve
tissue can be traced to most causes of neuropathy and
chronic pain. The primary negative effects of this hypoxia
are as follows:
-
A defensive contraction
of the nerve cell resulting in oversize synaptic
junctions
-
A loss of electrical
conductivity of the synaptic fluid between nerve cells
-
A defensive change in the
electrical potentials of the cell membrane resulting in
a higher resting state of the trigger level which
effectively limits the sensitivity to incoming signals
For example, when the lumbar
area experiences a muscle spasm, blood flow is restricted
through that muscle resulting in reduced oxygen availability
to the surrounding tissue, including nerve cells. Because
muscles can use either oxygen or glucose metabolic pathways,
they can recover quickly from a temporary reduction in the
level of available oxygen. Nerve cells, on the other hand,
are limited to the
Krebs oxidative
reductive metabolic system and must take
immediate defensive steps to assure survival during this
hypo oxygen state. One of the ways they accomplish this is
to contract along their longitudinal axis like a rubber
band, reducing their surface area and thus lowering their
need for oxygen. (This also occurs when these cells are
attacked by a harsh agent in the blood such as
chemotherapeutic drugs, Agent Orange, environmental toxins,
insecticides, etc.) The synaptic junctions between the axons
of one nerve cell and the dendrites of the next nerve cell
widen. Normal nerve transmission is now compromised because
a nerve signal of normal intensity cannot jump this newly
widened gap. The synaptic fluid between the nerve cells
must be electrically conductive. Pure water does not
conduct electricity, so this conductivity relies on minerals
and specific neurotransmitters such as serotonin in the
synaptic fluid to enable the propagation of the nerve
signal. These minerals are delivered via the perfusion of
adjacent tissues with fresh blood and kept in suspension by
the periodic ionization of successfully transmitted nerve
signals across the junction. When nerve signals are reduced
because of these larger dimensions of the synaptic junction,
necessary minerals are no longer held in place by electrical
tension and are slowly leeched out. (See Figure 2 below)
This adds to the impairment of effective nerve transmission.

Figure 2: Minerals
necessary for proper conduction across the synaptic junction
can leech out when not actively used.
Common short term remedies
with prescription drugs only ameliorate the pain temporarily
and do little or nothing to mitigate or cure the underlying
condition. They may provide some level of temporary relief,
but as the disease progresses, the effective dosage of the
drug needed to continue suppressing the pain increases
concurrently. The side effects of these types of drugs are
difficult to deal with and add to the patient’s discomfort.
When the increased drug dosage reaches a threshold level,
the patient can become confused, ataxic, constipated,
confined to a wheelchair or may become bedridden. Symptoms
similar to Alzheimer’s may soon follow. When nerve signals can no longer jump the enlarged synaptic
gap, the electrical tension that normally holds these
minerals in place is absent, causing the synaptic fluid to
leach out its mineral content. Electrical conductivity is
reduced, thereby inhibiting the transmission of the normal
nerves’ electrical signals across this gap.

Figure 3: How a nerve cell shrinks
resulting in a widened synaptic junction.
Neuropathy and
chronic pain: the Causes
Trauma:
Actual trauma is one of the major causes of neuropathy and
chronic pain, and results when the myelin sheath is cut or
etched away by chemotherapeutic agents, environmental
toxins, poorly performed injections, or from amputations and
accidents. Traumatic causes must obviously be mitigated by
removing the cause as in drug therapy, chemotherapy,
physical entrapment, and environmental poisons. Permanent
tissue damage may be beyond the scope of any therapy. When
these conditions are removed, the ReBuilder® may be a
helpful adjunctive therapy in the healing process.
Diabetes: Diabetes can also trigger
neuropathy and chronic pain by affecting the levels of
glucose and/or insulin in the blood stream. When this
occurs, minerals are driven out of the fluid in the synaptic
junction thereby reducing conductivity and impairing nerve
impulse transmission. Nerve signals propagates from the
cell body unidirectionally over the synapse, first along the
axon and then across the synapse to the next nerve or muscle
cell. The synaptic cleft, the gap between presynaptic
terminal and postsynaptic terminal, has a thickness of 10 -
50 nm. The fact that the impulse transfers across the
synapse only in one direction, from the presynaptic terminal
to the postsynaptic terminal, is due to the difference in
electrical polarity between the sending axon and the
receiving dendrite. This is one of the reasons that the
ReBuilder® sends its signal from one foot to the other –
it sets the relative potential in each gap properly so that
it forces the signal to jump properly, always toward the
central nervous system and not miss-fire and jump the wrong
way, perhaps to a sending axon that can lead to the
periphery.

Figure 4 (A) At rest synaptic vesicles. (B) Activated synaptic vesicles (when activation reaches the
presynaptic terminal, electrical signals jump across the
synaptic cleft to activate the postsynaptic terminal).
As a result of hypoxic cellular atrophy, nerve signals must
now try to jump a larger gap through a less conductive
medium. This loss of nerve transmission is first perceived
as tingling, then burning, and finally as pain when the
demineralization and gap widening process progresses. The
initial perception associated with atrophied nerves and
enlarged synaptic gaps is tingling as some of the normal
signals are misdirected to nearby nerves. As the condition
progresses, it happens more and more until more signals are
misdirected than properly propagated, and the resulting
sensation is one of pain. Finally, after the nerve signals
can no longer be transmitted at all, numbness is the primary
complaint. This secondary effect of neuropathy and chronic
pain reduces the strength of the calf muscles which, in
turn, reduces the blood flow to the lower extremities. This
condition often results in poor tissue perfusion, insecure
gait, balance problems, and other mobility issues.
Chemotherapeutic Agents: Prescribed for
cancer precisely because they inhibit fast growing or fast
acting cells, chemotherapeutic agents cause neuropathy and
chronic pain in approximately one third of the patients to
whom they are administered. Though nerve cells do not
reproduce themselves like cancer cells do, they do change
electrical states quickly and are thus particularly
susceptible to the effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. The
fast acting nerves are mistaken for fast growing neo-plasms.
Chemotherapy has the effect of de-mineralizing the synaptic
fluid, damaging the integrity of the nerve cells, and making
it difficult for the ionization of the cell membranes to
propagate the signal along the surface of the nerve. When
ionization takes place, the outer membrane of the nerve
cells change from positive to negative in a wave like motion
taking a positive charge from one end of the nerve all the
way to the other end. Chemotherapy is designed to interrupt
the ability of the cell to control the permeability of the
outer membrane and this process is electrically modulated.
This electrical interruption is misapplied when the agent
is in contact with the myelin sheath of a healthy, active
nerve cell and causes the nerve cell to “short out” and
inhibit the necessary different potentials in the nodes of
the myelin sheath.
Cardiovascular
Disease: By reducing the
amount of blood that can perfuse the tissue of the lower
legs and feet, cardiovascular disease can also cause
neuropathy and chronic pain. When the arteries and veins
become blocked, blood flow is reduced. One of the first
symptoms is intermittent claudication which results in a
reduction in the distance a patient can walk before the
onset of localized leg pain due to reduced oxygen
availability. Therefore, the muscle cells switch from
aerobic metabolism to using anaerobic metabolism thereby
creating greater than normal amounts of lactic acid, the
by-product of muscle metabolism. The increased lactic acid
collects in the cells causing inflammation and pain.
Lumbar Trauma: Trauma to the lumbar area of
the back can be another cause of neuropathy and chronic
pain. This trauma can be as slight as lifting a bag of
groceries out of the trunk, picking up a grandchild, or
bending down to tie a shoe. Our studies show a 60%
correlation between repeated injuries to the lower back and
subsequent development of neuropathy and chronic pain
symptoms. During the acute phase of localized trauma,
inflammation develops reducing arterial and venous blood to
the lumbar synaptic junctions. Nerves in the region
temporarily shrink due to the reduction in activity. Since
the body tends to conserve resources, the affected nerves
begin to atrophy, the synaptic junction gap begins to widen,
and synaptic minerals leech away making signal transmission
more difficult.
Signals of normal strength
can no longer cross synapses that are damaged by the
reduction in blood flow. The loss of signals across the
synapses compounds the process of deterioration. Muscle
atrophy and a host of other problems follow. We have found
that a signal delivered at 7.83 cycles per second (the
body's natural electromagnetic resonant frequency) and at an
amplitude approximately 10 times that originally required
will cross these enlarged synapses, repolarize them.
High Blood Pressure Medication: High blood
pressure medication not only lowers blood pressure, it also
reduces the ability of the arterial blood to refill the
veins. This vacancy results as the venous muscle pumps the
blood back to the heart. When this occurs the blood has a
tendency to pool in the lower extremities; the nerves and
synaptic junctions do not have enough necessary nutrition
and oxygen to maintain their health resulting in nerve cell
atrophy, loss of mineralization, and conductivity of the
synaptic junctions as explained above. Psychoactive Drug Therapy: These drugs,
used to reduce anxiety or seizures, have the effect of
reducing the intensity/frequency of all nerve signals.
This, too, can result in loss of motor and sensory nerve
function. These conditions can result in impaired mobility
and balance issues due to the loss of muscle strength.
Whenever overactive nerves that might be causing
psychological problems are depressed, they depress
borderline poorly functioning nerves as well.
The
ReBuilder® Works
on Three Separate, but Simultaneous Levels
Electro Stimulation of Nerves:
The ReBuilder’s® electrical signal is a compilation of two
signals transmitted simultaneously. One signal is
specifically designed to stimulate the nerves themselves
and has a very narrow waveform with a small amount of
current under the curve and a relatively high transient
voltage (characteristically 40 to 90 volts ac.). The
resulting current is miniscule and much below what is
commonly found with traditional TENS devices. A larger than
normal signal must be used because of the widening gap
between the nerve cells (See Figure 3) and the loss of much
of the conductivity in the synaptic junction fluid due to
demineralization (See Figure 2) the ReBuilder’s® nerve
stimulation signal is many times stronger than the normal
afferent and efferent signals; therefore, it can effectively
complete the circuit. This stimulates the nerves causing
them to re-establish their normal metabolic function. This
signal, crossing the synaptic junctions, also re-polarizes
the junctions causing them to be receptive to reabsorb
minerals thus improving the conductivity.
Electro Stimulation of Muscles:
The ReBuilder’s® second signal, which
overlays the nerve stimulation signal, is designed to
stimulate the muscles. This signal has a different, wider
waveform with a larger sub-threshold amount of current under
the curve and a much smaller voltage (5 to 20 vac.).
Muscles are most responsive to this waveform. This signal
causes the muscles of the feet, calves, thighs, and buttocks
to contract and relax in harmony with the ReBuilder’s®
signal. Overcoming any residual inflammatory resistance to
blood flow, the ReBuilder’s® proprietary signal also has
specific characteristics that cause a complete relaxation of
the muscles’ fast and slow twitch cells between each
contraction stimulus. In order for the venous pressure to
move the blood through the muscles bringing oxygen and
nutrients and taking away accumulated lactic acid, the
muscle fibers cannot remain in spasm. Adequate blood flow
can only occur in a flaccid muscle. This is an important
consideration. It is not the contraction but primarily the
time interval between the contractions that contribute to
the increased perfusion of blood through the oxygen starved
tissue.
If the frequency of the
muscle stimulation signal is too fast, it does not give the
muscle the appropriate time necessary to fully relax. If
the signal’s frequency is too slow, the muscle cannot
entrain and recruit enough fibers for a sustained
contraction. By stimulating the muscles to contract in this
manner in response to the ReBuilder's® signal, the venous
muscle pump is used to propel blood, against gravity, back
up towards the heart. Blood flow is increased with mineral
enriched blood which results in a flushing of metabolic
byproducts. This not only offers relief of pain from the
build up of excessive lactic acid, but it also triggers the
creation of new muscle mass. The synaptic junctions, bathed
with this mineral rich blood, are now able to permanently
conduct the nerves signals more effectively and efficiently.
Combined Electro Stimulation at 7.83 Hz: This twin electrical signal (one to stimulate
the nerve cells and the other to trigger muscle cells) is
pulsed on and off at the frequency of 7.83 cycles per
second. We have found that the human body is particularly
sensitive to this frequency. One postulation for this
sensitivity is that the electrical potential between the
earth's atmosphere and the earth’s surface is also
approximately 7.83 Hz. Using this signal frequency, we have
found that the body not only responds favorably but the
brain is induced to release large amounts of endorphins.
Endorphins, internal analgesics as powerful as and
chemically related to morphine but without any negative side
effects, are created and modulated by the body’s own
chemistry. The effect of this endorphin release is a
generalized sense of well-being, a reduction in pain and
anxiety levels elsewhere in the body, and even a reduction
in emotional pain. This ensures a very high level of
patient compliance not only because the patient feels good
physically during the massage-like treatment period but
because he/she feels better emotionally afterward
experiencing a reduction in global non-neuropathic (nociceptive)
pain for a period of 4 to 6 hours. An additional feature of the ReBuilder® is its simultaneous
weighted DC signal. This intentional imbalance to the
asymmetric waveform that results in a tiny DC current is
designed to stabilize the trigger threshold that regulates
the sensitivity of the nerve cell. Like a heart in
fibrillation, this normally stable trigger level begins an
unregulated oscillation that can result in erratic
transmission of incoming nerve signals. Sometimes small
signals are accepted for an attempt at propagation, and
sometimes only large signals are accepted. This upsets the
homeostasis of the part of the brain assigned to managing
these signals and selecting the appropriate response. By
sending this constant DC signal, the effect is to hold this
resting potential at a fixed voltage long enough for the
cell to stabilize itself and regain control. When the conductive rubber electrodes are applied to feet,
the current path is directed from one foot, to the ankle, up
to the knee, the thigh, the lumbar area, down the other leg
all the way to the foot. This means that all the nerves of
both legs are stimulated simultaneously as well as all the
muscles. This is a unique aspect of the ReBuilder®. The ReBuilder® contributes to the healing process
by accomplishing the following:
-
Stimulates leg muscles to
contract and relax thereby increasing blood velocity and
volume with fresh blood to the nerves and muscles.
-
Stimulates all the
afferent and efferent nerves in the lower extremities
with a signal larger than normal to re-establish the
pathways for subsequent normal signals to follow.
-
Draws axon and dendrite
nerve endings closer together to facilitate proper nerve
transmission.
-
Builds residual pain
relief each time the system is used.
-
Causes the brain to
release endorphins that reduce global pain and anxiety.
-
Promotes the healing of
non plantar surface diabetic skin ulcers and sprains.
-
Increases muscle strength
for safe, pain free walking.
-
Promotes better mobility
and balance as proprioception returns to the legs and
feet.
-
Reduces edema as muscle
contractions encourage lymphatic drainage and movement
to the proper nodes.
-
Increases collateral
circulation, stimulating vasogenesis.
The ReBuilder® accomplishes
these functions in a simple to use home care system that is
not only effective in helping relieve many of the symptoms
of neuropathy and chronic pain and in limiting its
progression, but can cause the regression of pain, burning,
and numbness.
When the ReBuilder’s® electrical signals stimulate the leg
muscles to contract, this "venous muscle pump" moves the
mineral rich blood to the muscles and the nerves. Osmotic
pressure and the ionic tension from the ReBuilder’s® signals
successfully jumping across the gaps then carries these
necessary minerals into the synaptic junctions between the
nerve cells helping to restore the conductivity that is
characteristically lost.
The
Electrophysiology of Electro Stimulation with the ReBuilder®
The activation
process encompasses certain specifics
such as currents, potentials, conductivities,
concentrations, ion flows, etc. The term action impulse
describes the whole process. When activation occurs in a
nerve cell, it is called a nerve impulse;
correspondingly, in a muscle cell, it is called a muscle
impulse. The bioelectric measurements focus
on the electric potential difference across the
membrane; thus the electric measurement of the action
impulse is called the action potential that
describes the behavior of the membrane potential during the
activation. Consequently, we speak, for instance, of
excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP) and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSP). In
biomagnetic measurements, it is the electric current that is the source of the magnetic field.
Therefore, it is logical to use the term action current
to refer to the source of the biomagnetic signal during the
action impulse. These terms are further illustrated in
Figure 5, below. Since it is these action potentials that
are in a fibrillation mode similar to a myocardial
infarction, the ReBuilder® can be thought of as a
defibrillator for nerve cells.
Figure 5:
Clarification of the terminology used in connection with the
action impulse:
A) The source of the action impulse may be nerve or muscle
cell (correspondingly the nerve impulse or a muscle
impulse). B) The electric quantity measured from the action impulse
may be potential or current (correspondingly the action
potential or action current).
The concentration of sodium
ions (Na+) is about 10 times higher outside the membrane
than inside, whereas the concentration of the potassium (K+)
ions is about 30 times higher inside as compared to outside.
When the membrane is stimulated so that the transmembrane
potential rises about 20 mV and reaches the threshold, i.e.,
the membrane voltage changes from -70 mV to about -50 mV
(these are illustrative and common numerical values), the
sodium and potassium ionic permeabilities of the membrane
change. The sodium ion permeability increases very rapidly
at first, allowing sodium ions to flow from outside to
inside, making the inside more positive. The inside reaches
a potential of about +20 mV. After that, the more slowly
increasing potassium ion permeability allows potassium ions
to flow from inside to outside, thus returning the
intracellular potential to its resting value. The maximum
excursion of the membrane voltage during activation is about
100 mV; the duration of the nerve impulse is around 1 ms, as
illustrated in Figure 6. While at rest, following
activation, the Na-K pump restores the ion concentrations
inside and outside the membrane to their original values.

Figure 6: Nerve
impulse recorded from a cat motoneuron following a
transthreshold stimulus. The originating triggering
stimulus may be seen at t = 0.
Whether an excitatory cell is activated depends largely on
the strength and duration of the stimulus. The membrane
potential may reach the threshold by a short, strong
stimulus or a longer, weaker stimulus. The ReBuilder’s®
therapeutic benefit depends on its use of a short voltage
pulse rather than current. Although the rheobase is very
small, to get that true net figure, a transdermal signal
must be larger and take into consideration both the
resistance of the skin and the impedance of the body. The
impedance acts as a threshold “brake” that must first be
overcome and then immediately sensed and subsequent signals
must be reduced to avoid overwhelming the nerve potentials.
The ReBuilder® has special circuits that monitor and
control these electrical parameters in real time. The curve
illustrating this dependence is called the strength-duration curve; a typical relationship between
these variables is illustrated in Figure 7on the following
page. The smallest current adequate to initiate activation
is called the rheobasic current or rheobase.
Theoretically, the rheobasic current needs an infinite
duration to trigger activation. The time needed to excite
the cell with twice rheobase current is called chronaxy.
The
Strength-Duration Curve
 Figure
7: (A) The response of the membrane to various stimuli of
changing strength (B), the strength-duration curve. The
level of current strength which will just elicit activation
after a very long stimulus is called rheobase. The minimum
time required for a stimulus pulse twice the rheobase in
strength to trigger activation is called chronaxy. (For
simplicity, here, threshold is shown to be independent on
stimulus duration.)
Accommodation
and habituation denote the adaptation of the cell
to a continuing or repetitive stimulus. This is
characterized by a rise in the excitation threshold.
Facilitation denotes an increase in the
excitability of the cell; correspondingly, there is a
decrease in the threshold. Latency denotes the
delay between two events. In the present context, it refers
to the time between application of a stimulus pulse and the
beginning of the activation. Once activation has been
initiated, the membrane is in the absolute refractory
period, and is insensitive to new stimuli no matter how
great the magnitude. During the relative refractory
period, near the end of the activation impulse, the
cell may be activated but only with a stimulus stronger than
normal. A damaged nerve is in this relative refractory
period and that is why the ReBuilder® sends a 10X signal.
The membrane voltage (transmembrane
voltage) (Vm) of an excitable cell is defined as the
potential at the inner surface (Фi) relative to that at the
outer (Фo) surface of the membrane, i.e. Vm = (Фi) - (Фo).
This definition is independent of the cause of the
potential whether the membrane voltage is constant,
periodic, or nonperiodic in behavior. Fluctuations in the
membrane potential may be classified according to their
character in many different ways. Figure 8 on the following
page shows the classification for nerve cells developed by
Theodore Holmes Bullock (1959). According to Bullock, these
transmembrane potentials may be resolved into a resting
potential and potential changes due to activity. The latter
may be classified into three different types:
-
Pacemaker potentials: the
intrinsic activity of the cell which occurs without
external excitation.
-
Transducer potentials
across the membrane, due to external events. These
include generator potentials caused by receptors or
synaptic potential changes arising at synapses. Both
subtypes can be inhibitory or excitatory.
-
As a consequence of
transducer potentials, further response will arise. If
the magnitude does not exceed the threshold, the
response will be nonpropagating (electrotonic). If the
response is great enough, a nerve impulse (action
potential impulse) will be produced which obeys the
all-or- nothing law (see below) and proceeds
unattenuated along the axon or fiber.

Figure 8: Trans
membrane potentials according to Theodore H. Bullock.
Distinct and
characteristic morphologic
changes have been demonstrated in diabetic neuropathy and
chronic pain including focal and generalized nerve fiber
loss, nodal changes, blunted fiber regeneration, and
segmental demyelination. (This segmental demyelination is a
result of the shrinking of the nerve cell which draws the
nodes together. When these nodes touch, they in effect,
short each other out and lose their integrity.) (See Figure
3 on page 3).
Pathophysiologically, by
utilizing the technique of threshold electrotonus, diabetic
neurons (myelinated and unmyelinated) display selective
reduction of inward rectification of the potassium channel.
Thus, channel closure produces an excess of positively
charged potassium (K+) on the inner side of the nerve
membrane leading to depolarization. This also induces the
opening of both the voltage and time-dependent calcium
(Ca++) channels and sodium (Na+) channels. Evidence
suggests that this axonal accumulation of sodium and calcium
(as opposed to the opposite leeching of these minerals from
the synaptic fluid) during dysesthetic neuropathy and
chronic pain is key to the symptoms of paresthesiae and
burning. Paresthesiae are believed to be produced by
multiple cutaneous or motor axons firing ectopically and
cyclically with alteration of Na-K-Cyclic adenosine
monophosphate (C-AMP) and ATPase. The DC portion of the
signal produced by the ReBuilder® stabilizes the uptake of
these minerals by forcing a baseline voltage differential
and inhibiting this de-polarization phenomenon. In
addition, the application of additional biologically
available Ca balances the Ca++ and the Na+.
Some researchers believe that
a final common pathway might be a decrease in the
intra-axonal concentration of C-AMP. Based upon the
disappearance and/or significant improvement in the
paresthesiae, it is tempting to speculate that this aberrant
behavior of the fibers is affected at the cellular level
with stabilization. Since these specific changes are seen
to a greater extent in sensory nerves and with advanced age,
it is hypothesized that ReBuilder® bio-stimulation
selectively induces hyperpolarization or repolarization with
a return to baseline axonal potential in the sensory
afferents. The effects of this ReBuilder ®stimulation on
peripheral nerve excitability may depend on a combination of
factors including design, strength, intensity, and duration
as well as the functional state of the peripheral nerve. To
date it has been difficult to identify electrophysiological
changes by the conventional gold standards of serial nerve
conductions and SSEP. These wave form factors that the
ReBuilder® uses are designed to mimic a normal signal and
are part of the patent pending technology. It is the
purpose of the ReBuilder® to be an external source of
stimulus to induce an action potential impulse which will
then proceed fully along the axon.
Several general principles
have emerged from our studies. First, electrical
stimulation induces ionic gradient changes in the Na-K-ATPase
system. Since there are distinct physiologic and neuro-biologic
changes noted at the cell membrane level, it is postulated
that repetitive sub-threshold stimulation of afferents also
induces similar ionic changes. The most plausible
explanation is that the ReBuilder® targets the small
C-fibers and induces a change in the firing pattern of the
C-fibers by recruitment, synchronization, and possible
temporal summation, thereby producing either
hyper-polarization or re-polarization. It is well known
that the functional C-polymodal receptor afferents are
functionally adaptive and can be modulated by drugs and
temperature which act or influence their surface membrane
receptors. Similarly, stimulation by either threshold or
sub-threshold influences could produce the same effect. It
is recognized that unmyelinated C-fiber axons comprise 75%
of the axons in cutaneous peripheral nerves in the sole of
the foot (epidermis and dermis) and have increased
utilization of potassium channels. By virtue of this defect
in the internal rectifying channel, there is an interference
with neuronal transmission thereby producing a constant
depolarization. In Figure 9 below, the active portion (B)
is reduced and nerve propagation is inhibited in a
salutatory manner. Those nerves that are unmyelinated (A)
do not possess this feature and this is why, in neuropathy
and chronic pain, the motor neurons may not be damaged in
the same time sequence as the sensory neurons. This
observation also accounts for the intermittent quality of
the sensations or lack thereof in the same anatomical area.
The ReBuilder® is designed to repolarize this defect in the
internal rectifying channel and because 75% of the axons are
in the plantar surface of the foot, this is one of the
ReBuilder® administers its signals via the foot.

Figure 9: Conduction
of a nerve impulse in a nerve axon.
(A) Continuous
conduction in an unmyelinated axon. (B) Saltatory conduction in a myelinated axon.
Since dramatic benefits are
seen in diabetic patients, it is presumed that the ReBuilder®
stimulation induced alteration of the nociceptive threshold
(which depends on voltage-flux, flux density, time, and
usage) leads pain modulation. This is the well known
strength-duration relationship. These factors are all a
part of the patent pending technology of the ReBuilder®.
Examples of nociceptive pain include sprains, bone
fractures, burn, bumps, bruises, inflammation (from an
infection or arthritic disorder), obstructions, and
myofascial pain (which may indicate abnormal muscle
stresses).
Nociceptors are the nerves
which sense and respond to parts of the body which suffer
from damage. They signal tissue irritation, impending
injury, or actual injury. When activated, they transmit
pain signals (via the peripheral nerves as well as the
spinal cord) to the brain. The pain is typically well
localized, constant, and often with an aching or throbbing
quality. Visceral pain is the subtype of nociceptive pain
that involves the internal organs. It tends to be episodic
and poorly localized.
Our research is finding that
regardless of the absence of electrodiagnostic sensitivity,
the morphologic and pathophysiologic changes raise several
interesting questions. Axonal damage indicative of physical
shrinkage along a longitudinal axis was seen in all the
subjects with 100% loss of sensory action (SNAP) and 60%
loss of compound motor potentials (CMAP). Despite this
extensive damage, there was dramatic subjective,
statistically significant benefit in 90% of the patients
using the ReBuilder® in a clinical setting.
Since it is assumed that
there is both A and C-fiber damage, the current results
suggest this observed high frequency of regenerating axons,
likely related to transient hypoxia, may be relevant to the
benefits seen. This lack of available oxygen to the nerve
cells has a cascading effect resulting in specific metabolic
abnormalities that have been identified in diabetic
neuropathy and chronic pain. Some of these include a
reduction in nerve-free myoinositol, a reduction in the rate
of synthesis and transport of intra-axonal proteins, a
reduced incorporation of glycolipids, electrolytes and amino
acids into myelin, a reduction in nerve Na-K-AT-Pase, and
excessive glycogen accumulation. It has also been
documented that elevated glucose levels evoke a rise in the
intracellular ATP levels thereby closing the potassium
channel. Increased glucose levels also cause sore muscles
from the conversion to lactic acid in the muscles which
farther reduces blood flow and exacerbates hypoxia.
The idea that a single
ReBuilder® treatment can induce a change in the firing
pattern of the C-fibers is novel and appealing. However,
one cannot ignore the therapeutic benefit over a longer
period. Patients using the ReBuilder® clearly showed an
accumulating improvement, particularly those with underlying
diabetic neuropathy and chronic pain.
The intriguing issue of
neuroprotection needs to be addressed. Does the ReBuilder®
treatment delay the progression of peripheral nerve damage?
So far follow up data suggests that it does.
As mentioned above,
electrical stimulation alteration of the nociceptive
threshold depends on voltage-flux, flux, density, time, and
usage. According to Faraday’s Law, a magnetic field
(created by the ReBuilder’s® current path) will exert a
force on a moving ionic current. Furthermore, an extension
of this physics principle known as the Hall Effect holds
that when an electromagnetic field is perpendicular to the
direction of flow, it will generate a secondary
intracellular voltage and secondary heat. Since peripheral
nerves in diabetic neuropathy and chronic pain have impaired
blood flow with endoneurial hypoxia secondary to nerve micro
vessel damage, it is tempting to speculate that improvement
in the micro vascular circulation is also reflected in the
feeling of warmth which may be due to an improvement in
local and regional blood flow.
Safety
Considerations
As intermittent electrical
signals are received into the nervous system, the
resistance, capacity, and impedance changes dramatically on
a dynamic basis. This change must be monitored and the
voltage, current, and other electrical parameters must be
adjusted in real time. Unless an electrical device
incorporates the safety features unique to the ReBuilder®,
either the patient can be injured or the instrument will be
damaged. Therefore the clinician should not be
tempted to try to stimulate the nerves and muscles
simultaneously with a normal TENS or EMS device.
The ReBuilder® has patented technology built in which
samples the patient’s electrical parameters over 25,000
times per minute and automatically adjusts the output to
ensure the patient’s safety. This, coupled with the both the
power supplied by a 9 volt battery and the electronic
circuits inside the unit being electrically isolated from
the direct contact with the patient, insures complete
safety.
- end
Back to ReBuilder Page
Do
you or a loved one suffer from
peripheral neuropathy?
-
The road to recovery STARTS with
the ReBuilder™!
- Aggressive Neuro-stimulus: The ReBuilder™
This amazing device is the
closest thing to a cure you can
find.
The ReBuilder’s patented electrical signal device has been proven
94% effective in clinical studies in reducing painful symptoms of neuropathy.
FDA Approved ♦ Covered by Most
Plans with a
Prescription

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