30 years ago a group of Russian scientists, engineers and physicians,
commenced development work on the concept of Scenar invented by Alexander
Karasev. They set themselves the task to design a non-invasive, portable
treatment device, perhaps even suitable to accompany cosmonauts into
space. Following extensive clinical and technical trials, Scenar
(sometimes spelt with a “k”) in 1986 was approved by the USSR Medical Council
for use both in hospitals and the home. The device could be mistaken
for a TV remote control unit. In fact it is a highly sophisticated device
designed to be an informational analogue to a living system.
The theories underlying Scenar therapy draw on Functional Medicine, as well
as traditional Chinese medicine, and centre on the concept that the human body
is a finely tuned functional system continually maintaining itself in balance
(homeostasis). Normally the body adapts in a self-regulatory manner to
the stimuli reaching it from both internal and external sources, making it a
dynamic but stable system. When something disrupts this adaptive process, e.g.
trauma or disease, balance is lost and the self-regulating process may need to
be re-started through an external catalyst, such as Scenar.
Scenar therapy is a complex form of electrotherapy which delivers specific
electrical stimulation impulses to the body via in-built and/or remote electrodes
in direct contact with the skin’s surface. The impulses mimic the
electrical signals produced by the patient’s nervous system so as to stimulate
the organism to heal itself with optimum efficiency and safety. By
bringing the Scenar device into contact with the patient’s skin, bio-feedback
from the presenting pain / disease dynamics (or lack of them) will determine
the appropriate impulses. They will be specific to each patient and at
any given time. Scenar’s actions aim at both the “fast” pain-blocking
A-fibres and the “slow” pain producing and peptide generating C-fibres.
Explained at its simplest, the Scenar’s sophisticated circuitry “listens” to
the patient’s body and then determines the most appropriate signals and dosages
that, in any given instance, need to be provided to stimulate
self-healing. The body’s self-healing is effected through neuro- and
other peptides, sometimes described as the body’s in-built pharmacy. The
dosed signal stream, consisting of waveform, signal strength and frequency, can
be varied, either by pre-selection, by the Scenar therapist, or automatically,
by the control circuitry of the device. The automatic process can be
overridden by the Scenar therapist with guidance from visual indicators and as sound signals from the device, or from direct indicators from the patient’s skin.
The experienced therapist can draw on a comprehensive range of treatment
variations to deal with both acute and chronic conditions.