By Christopher Giovarelli
Laurel Shelley''s life came to a stiff halt in 2002 when the bones in her arm were shattered in an automobile accident.
The physician who performed surgery on Shelley''s arm after the accident described it as an effort to 'screw corn flakes back together,' according to a report in Athletic Therapy Today.
Shelley ended up with screws in her arm measuring up to 3 inches in length and significant scar tissue build-up, which impaired her range of motion. Doctors told her to continue on with her life and accept that she would not live the same life as before.
'When I first took the cast off, I couldn''t move an inch,' Shelley said. 'I couldn''t really move enough to do things. They told me to be grateful that I had an arm,'
Defying doctors'' predictions, last week Laurel Shelley played volleyball.
She plays volleyball often and regularly participates in racquetball matches.
'Now I can do whatever I want,' she said.
The remarkable change in Shelley''s life is just one example of nearly a half dozen patients with metal implants who have had full range of motion restored by a BYU professor''s gutsy application of a non-traditional medical technique.
'This is something I have been thinking about for an awfully long time,' said David Draper, BYU professor of athletic training and pioneer of the explorative technique. 'I got this crazy idea to heat up the joints prior to mobilizations; we can use heat on metal implants, we just have to do it with caution.'
According to traditional medicine, the application of heat, also known as shortwave diathermy, to metal implants is a precarious and unconventional procedure.
Diathermy heat units are frequently used to soften and break-up scar tissue to increase mobility in accident victims.
However, in cases where pins and screws have been implanted, heat is discouraged, as the metal serves as a conductor, heating up quickly and often burning the skin from within, according to several medical journals reviewed for this story.
Nonetheless, with a success rate of over 90 percent, and two published articles in prestigious journals, Draper''s research has unseated established thought on the matter.
' research has shown that some principles of medicine have been limited,' Draper said.
The twist in his research is the use of pulsed heat rather than a constant flow, thus limiting the temperature of the metal implants.
As the waves of heat are transmitted deep into the flesh, they raise localized temperature, allowing for the dismantling of tough scar tissues. This technique lacks the sustained heat that would lead to dangerous temperatures in the metal implants.
While Draper has found success, there is still a long journey ahead before the four-year-old diathermy technique can be considered mainstream.
Tim Henry, a physical therapist at the University of Utah, said diathermy is a less-modern method for increasing mobility and that newer methods, such as ultrasound, are more readily used.
Draper contends that while ultrasound has been proven effective, it is highly limited in terms of the size of area it can affect.
'Diathermy can be used on an area the size of a salad plate,' Draper said. 'Ultrasound can only cover an area roughly the size of a silver dollar.'
The controversy over accepted medical practices continues, but to Laurel Shelley it doesn''t really matter.
After diathermy treatment in BYU''s theraputic mobilities lab, she has regained full use of her arm and has extended her range of motion back to normal.
'I did in six sessions what I couldn''t do in six months with traditional therapy,' she said. ' I''m grateful for things I never thought about before.'