The WaDiT & Osteo-Arthritic Pain
by Bill Fort

There are 8 million people in Germany with osteoarthritis. Many of them have had their lives transformed by a new form of electro-medicine, now used in continental Europe, the USA and Far East, although at present not available in the UK. The company claim a better than 80% success rate, either pain alleviation or complete elimination. The device providing this relief is called WaDiT, an acronym for Watt Differential Therapy and is also used for treating general back pain, osteoporosis, ulcers, migraine and much more. It is marketed by a company called HAKO-MED G.m.b.H, based in Karlsruhe and the inventor and managing director, Dr Achim Hansjuergens, was one of the progenitors of the widely used 'Interferential Electrotherapy' in UK hospitals.

What the WaDiT doesn't do is cure arthritis - there is no known cure for this debilitating and painful condition. What it does do is alleviate the pain.

Pain is usually the body's way of telling us to rest up. If you lift something heavy and tweak a back muscle, you try to avoid repeating that particular activity until the pain has gone. Arthritic pain is different, the joint should continue to be exercised to prevent muscular atrophy, something usually easier said than done.

Dr Hansjuergens describes the WaDiT as a giant step forward in electro-therapy. 'Interferential' was introduced back in 1969 and a step on the way was the development in 1991 of the EDT [Electrical Differential Therapy] allowing the medical fraternity to classify all previously known therapy types in electro-medicine. This they could now do without becoming technicians themselves and it enabled them to use this therapy with a high expectation of success.

Without becoming too technical, EDT recognises two groups of effects, known as biochemical and bioelectrical. Biochemical effects are produced on the surface of the tissue whereas bioelectrical effects occur in the depth of the tissue. An inherent short-coming of EDT was the inability to produce these effects simultaneously at the same site. This is something that occurs naturally in the body, but with the WaDiT, known as 'Horizontal Therapy', it is possible to imitate the cells natural processes.

Does it work? Well, it certainly did for me! Some years ago I developed osteoarthritis in my thumbs and wrists. Writing was difficult, so I got a keyboard. Next, I invested in an electric toothbrush, 'Velcro' straps on my shoes, zips replaced by buttons, and so on. Almost anything to avoid pressure on the affected joints. I parted company with my fishing dinghy because I could no longer handle an anchor-rope safely and was contemplating life without a car.

I stumbled across the WaDiT quite by accident whilst visiting a friend in Germany. She introduced me to her physiotherapist and he asked if I'd like to try this treatment. Well, I'd tried just about everything else [including 'Interferential'and 'EDT'], so I thought 'why not?' At this point I was following my GP's advice - exercising the joints and swallowing up to 8 pain-killing tablets daily.

There was only time for two sessions and after the second everything seemed as before. I'd expected this, after all nothing else had worked! The physio told me at least 6 sessions were necessary for relief and any improvement would be only temporary. This seemed rather academic as there had been none, but I thanked him anyway and we said goodbye. What happened later that evening sent a shudder of disbelief down my spine!

It was my last day and I got a couple of bottles of Hock to say 'cheerio' in style, as you do. Opening them, I suddenly realised I was using a corkscrew normally for the first time in over six months. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my hands. Gingerly I tried some of the rather painful exercises suggested by my GP. Nothing! - every scrap of discomfort had vanished! I went to bed that night with my mind in a haze that was not entirely alcoholic.
Much as predicted, it stayed that way for about two weeks, then the pain slowly returned over a period of a couple of months to its former intensity. As an ex-scientist I am not easily impressed by new gadgetry - I am by this.

Why is it not available in the UK? Well, for a start nobody in the DoH or BMA had heard of it. They have now!. The Medical Research Council told me they only look at their own inventions and referred me to the Medical Devices Agency. The MDA are only responsible for safety of products and ensuring existing product legislation is met - indeed their subsequent approach to HAKO-Med was aggressive and seemed deliberately unhelpful. Letters to Alan Milburn were referred to the MDA and those to John Denham, then a health minister, went unanswered. I think it is called going around in government circles.

The MDA said it was up to the company to promote their product and I agree. However, HAKO-Med and their patients are doing quite nicely without trading in the UK so on purely pragmatic grounds, why should they bother?

Furthermore, and closer to home, Dr Hansjuergens was kind enough to give me a machine and as a result I have no arthritic pain and no longer require any of the annual 3,000 tablets - good news for my intestines, bad news for the drug companies! I am no clinician or therapist but a number of friends and acquaintances I have tried to help along the way also seem quite pleased with the results.