Independent health journalist, Lynne Greenwood writes about iolife and interviews the inventor of the iolife equipment, John Wetling.

When Prince Henrik of Denmark heard how Iolife had reduced the pain suffered by thoroughbred racehorses, he asked what effect the treatment would have on his own agonising back pain.

The Prince, consort to Queen Margrethe II, was suffering pain connected to a slipped disc and an infection in the spinal chord following surgery.

Three days after his first treatment on November 1, 1996, the Royal Prince was back in the saddle.

And convinced that Iolife was responsible for his pain relief, he had further treatment for a long-standing frozen shoulder. This also responded well.

Since then, even Her Majesty the Queen has been helped Iolife, and today, over 1,000 people in Denmark receive Iolife (or CITE as it is known over there) treatment every day.

Now therapists in the UK are reporting positive feedback from clients receiving Iolife treatment for a variety of conditions.

Iolife is also under discussion among professional sports bodies and clubs in the UK, keen to test its effects on sportsmen and women recovering from fatigue and injury.

They are also interested in how it can be used by athletes aiming to retain peak fitness during a tournament or concentrated spell of matches.

Iolife is a non-invasive treatment and works in a similar way to acupuncture but without the use of needles.

With the patients lying or sitting in a comfortable position, the equipment is directed by the therapist on to the area deemed to be most appropriate. It can be the soles of the feet, the face, head, neck or a specific area of the body.

The Iolife machine then creates a concentrated stream of negatively charged ions which release their charge when they make contact with the skin, creating an effect throughout the body.

In turn, the effect helps to stimulate the body’s natural energy channels and defence system. The patient often feels a warm sensation.

Iolife has been used successfully by therapists in the treatment of common ailments from sore throats, menstrual pain, headaches and migraine to shoulder, neck and back pain, whiplash injuries, acne and skin complaints.

Iolife has also helped relieve the symptoms of serious conditions including Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Motor Neurone Disease and ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), and the after effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

It is currently being trialled in a University Hospital in Bangkok for its effectiveness in healing wounds and burns.

The most common ailments require an average of three or four treatments, lasting up to one hour, but more serious conditions may need treatments lasting up to one year.  In some cases, patients with MND or MS have on-going regular treatments.

The theory behind the treatment was developed by Danish architect John Wetling, who after studying the effects of ‘sick building syndrome’- how the environment can affect people’s health and well-being - attempted to find relief for his wife’s serious sinus inflammation.

That was 35 years ago when John first studied reflexology and acupuncture, before developing the first piece of equipment, which he admits was “fairly clumsy.” But in the last ten years, since technology advances and with John’s greater expertise and experience, he has designed a sophisticated piece of equipment which is safe and effective for use with many conditions.

“When I treated the Prince, the technology boosted his own immune system so quickly that a few days after being barely able to walk, he could sit on a horse again,” says John Wetling.

“But I know that this treatment has helped thousands of people with a variety of problems. It is safe, comfortable and there ar