New Fenzian system study conducted at Central--
cutting-edge injury treatment testing benefits Central athletes

Duke University, UCLA, Central College.

Three schools employing some cutting-edge technology in their athletic training programs.

All three schools are serving as test sites for a year-long clinical trial with the Fenzian Treatment System, an electrical impulse system using digital technology in treating athletic injuries. According to Dr. David Pavlat, chair of Central’s exercise science department, the system could revolutionize athletic training and Dutch athletes are already seeing remarkable results. The Fenzian system was developed in England six years ago and has only been available in the U.S. about a year.

Central is being used for a qualitiative study testing the affects of the Fenzian system on acute injuries. Duke is testing chronic injuries while the Fenzian units are being used on asthmatics at UCLA.

Central got involved early last summer. Pavlat was visiting with Pella resident Laine Korver, a Central graduate and former Dutch basketball player. Her son Kyle plays for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and another son, Klayton, plays for Drake Unviersity. Both were receiving injury treatment with the Fenzian system through Tory Brooks, who was traveling the U.S. while demonstrating the new system to NBA teams. Both players were reporting remarkable results.

“So, I looked into it and discovered the company wanted to study different types of injuries — not just NBA and NFL injuries — and so I thought Central should do this,” Pavlat said.

Pavlat contacted James Colthurst of London, England, the founder of Fenzian Ltd. Colthurst was impressed with what he learned about Central’s exercise science and athletic training programs and traveled to Pella Aug. 5-7, along with Brooks and assistant Pam Giddings. They conducted a workshop in which Central’s exercise science department members were taught basic training on how to use the Fenzian with both acute and chronic injuries. Athletic trainers were given suggestions on how to create treatment schedules and protocols.

Colthurst left as a fan of Central College and its staff.

“He was impressed,” Pavlat said. “He said our athletic trainers are strong professionals, yet they’re very open to new ideas. He liked the fact that we’re easy to work with. That’s not always the case at the large universities.”

The Fenzian system uses the latest microchip technology. The handheld, portable device is the size of a pocket calculator and requires only a nine-volt battery. It uses non-invasive technology for rapid recovery of injuries and works with the body to correct itself.

“It doesn’t force external elements onto a body,” said Leslie Duinink, Central’s head athletic trainer. “It uses a person’s own neurological system to affect changes. There is very little electrical energy in a unit—and most of that energy is used just for us to be able to see the numbers on the screen.”

Duinink said that with any type of treatment, typically some injured athletes report positive results, some don’t and in some cases injuries can become worse. But what she’s seen with the Fenzian system thus far is encouraging.

“Some athletes have said it’s helped and a few said it hasn’t helped but no one has yet said it’s made them feel worse,” she said.

“We’re seeing some athletes returning from injury quicker than we thought they would,” Duinink said. “We treated a football player with an ankle sprain in a scrimmage on Saturday and he was back playing without any problems the following Wednesday. We had an injured player who couldn’t move his leg in two directions a couple weeks ago. We thought he would be out eight weeks. He’s already back to practice.”

There can also be some peculiar initial results.

“The treatment can magnify an old injury or illness,” she said. “We worked on a foot injury of one athlete and an old sinus infection flared up. Because we’re working with the body to heal itself, when we treat it, in a sense it’s waking up the body’s neurological system and saying ‘Hey, we’ve got to deal with this.’”

Even at the professional level, few teams are utilizing the Fenzian system, putting Central ahead of the game. But word is spreading. Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash used the system to treat various injuries last year and is a strong proponent, Pavlat said.

“The rumor I’ve heard is that the NBA Players Association is going to insist that Fenzian units become a standard piece of equipment for every team,” Pavlat said. “They’re going to try to put that into the next collective bargaining agreement.”

Meanwhile, Central athletes benefit from the new technology.

“Most of the few places that use the Fenzian system have one or two units,” Pavlat said. “We have five.”

Pavlat is the principal investigator for the project with athletic trainers Greg Gilmore, Chris Viesselman and Duinink. Senior athletic training students Patrick Dooley and Liz Nosbisch. are involved with data collection.

Gilmore is intrigued by where Fenzian treatment could lead.

“It’s exciting for us from the standpoint that this has the capabilities to revolutionize how we do athletic training and it could completely change the equipment we use and how we spend our time evaluating and treating student-athletes,” said Gilmore.