 |
Silver Fabric Brings Benefits to O&P
By Miki Fairley Besides millennia as a sought-after precious metal
for money, jewelry, and household items, silver also provides many
health benefits. The ancients knew about this secret of silver: for
instance, the Romans used silver to cover wounds to promote
healing. Pirates on the high seas and American pioneers traveling
west dropped silver coins in water barrels to keep their water
clean.
Long before that, in the sixth century B.C., Cyrus the Great,
king of Persia, a man of vision who established a board of health
and medical dispensary for his citizens, used silver to keep water
clean on long journeys.
In 1884, German obstetrician F. Crede discovered that a silver
nitrate solution dropped into infants' eyes right after birth would
kill the microbes that had caused blindness in generations of
babies.
Today, the precious metal is used in a range of electrical,
mechanical, optical, and medicinal applications.
Medicinally, due its superb broad-spectrum antimicrobial
properties, silver is used in a variety of healthcare products
ranging from bandages to burn care treatments to catheters--many
products in which infection control is critical.
Fiber Finds Many Uses
 |
Acor’s X-STATIC® “the silver fiber™” |
|
Among the newer developments in silver technology
is X-Static® - The Silver FiberTM, produced by
Noble Fiber Technologies, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Although
giants such as Dow Chemical, DuPont, and Smith & Nephew are
pouring money into developing ways to use silver and other agents
for antibacterial textiles, the small company of Noble Fiber has
gotten the jump, noted an article in Forbes magazine by
Susan Kitchens (October 27, 2003). The company has licensed its
silver-coated fibers under the X-Static brand to more than 100
manufacturers, the article reported, including Marks & Spencer,
Adidas, Puma, Spyder, and Johnson & Johnson.
The Silver Institute, a nonprofit international association
comprising members from the silver industry ( www.silverinstitute.org), reported that
athletes from about 60 countries wore X-Static socks in the 2004
Olympics; NASA and the European Space Agency astronauts wear them;
and some US forces in Iraq use them. "X-Static fibers are being
fabricated into clothing in almost every country in the world and
are incorporated into wound care products," according to the
Institute.
Active wear is incorporating X-Static, according to WCPO-TV,
Cincinnati, Ohio. The station tested the wear and found that it
stayed fresh and odorless despite intensive workouts and was still
going strong after many washings.
The fiber provides other benefits. "Besides its bactericidal
abilities, X-Static, as its name implies, acts as an anti-static
and as a good thermal regulator, two other notable properties of
the metal," the Forbes article pointed out.
O& P Jumps on Bandwagon
 |
Knit-Rite SmartKnit AFO Socks |
|
Some orthotics- and prosthetics-related products
have also jumped on the X-Static bandwagon. Knit-Rite Inc., Kansas
City, Kansas, notes that it was the first to bring silver's
antimicrobial and therapeutic qualities to the O&P community
with an entire family of products constructed with X-Static.
Knit-Rite products with the silver fabric include a recent
innovation, the Compressogrip® A/K Prosthetic Shrinker and the
traditional B/K Compressogrip Shrinker. "The manufacturer has also
received testimonials that the X-Static shrinker has helped
patients find relief from phantom pain," Knit-Rite said.
Knit-Rite has also added a new version of its Soft-Sock®,
which it notes is the original CoolMax®/Lycra® prosthetic
sock. The new version incorporates X-Static to inhibit odor and
infection. The Soft-Sock with X-Static is soft and cuddly and
offers moisture-wicking and thermodynamic properties, plus enough
stretch for excellent fitting qualities, according to the
company.
 |
Juzo Silver Compression Stockings |
|
Juzo/Julius Zorn Inc., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, now
offers Juzo® Silver Compression Stockings, knitted with
23-percent X-Static silver threads. The addition of silver makes
the product naturally antimicrobial, anti-odor, and cool-wearing,
the company pointed out. The company also provides Juzo Silver
Stump Shrinkers to help control postoperative edema and maintain
the shape of the residual limb. The company said that the shrinkers
have shown promise in reducing or eliminating phantom pain. "We are
excited at the prospect that Juzo Silver Stump Shrinkers may help
those who suffer from phantom pain," said Eddie Scott, director of
product development. "We remain committed to continuing our
research in this area."
The Juzo website presents a possible explanation of how silver
may work to reduce phantom limb pain: "Ongoing research in this
area should give us a greater understanding of how and why silver
garments--and other metallic garments--seem to alleviate phantom
pain. The present theory is that amputees are sometimes left with
free nerve endings, which become hyper-sensitized to electronic and
magnetic radiation. Many amputees report that incidents of phantom
pain are exaggerated around electrical equipment or radio
transmitters. Silver is not only an excellent conductor, but it is
also an excellent barrier. The silver threads form an ionic
'shield' which effectively repels electromagnetic radiation and
thus protects the sensitive nerve endings from being bombarded with
this form of stimuli. Inasmuch as Juzo silver garments contain a
much higher concentration of silver, they are more likely to shield
out more of the electromagnetic waves which could otherwise touch
off phantom pain."
 |
Acor Sole Defense® Broadway shoe |
|
Acor, Cleveland, Ohio, has enhanced its entire
line of footwear with X-Static and renamed the line Sole
Defense® Footwear. Each shoe has now been lined with the
fabric, according to Jeff Binczyk, Acor vice president of sales and
marketing. Individual shoe names--BroadwayTM,
RiverWalkTM, Comfort StreetTM, Spring
StreetTM, and ActivzTM--will remain the same,
Binczyk said. Noting that diabetic feet often harbor bacteria,
fungi, and odor, Binczyk said, "Imagine being able to eliminate
99.9 percent of bacteria and odor from the shoe, while at the same
time minimizing blisters and hot spots that can lead to more
serious foot problems. This is what X-Static does."
Testing Proves Antimicrobial Power
The silver-coated nylon thread has had its bactericidal value
established by laboratories at Pennsylvania State University,
according to the Silver Institute. The Forbes article by Susan
Kitchens reported that, besides Pennsylvania State, Cornell
University and Yang-Ming Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan, also
substantiated the fabric's antibacterial properties. X-Static was
also shown to nearly eliminate the presence of T.
mentagrophytes (the fungus that causes athlete's foot) within
48 hours, Kitchens noted. On its website, Noble Fiber Technologies
lists other independent studies.
How Does It Work?
How does X-Static work? Kitchens answers colorfully: "Simply
put, silver kills bacteria by strangling the little buggers. In a
warm, moist environment, silver ions, which are highly
'bioreactive'--meaning that they are itching to combine with other
substances--bind with proteins inside and outside bacterial cell
membranes. This inhibits cell respiration and reproduction. (Don't
worry: Silver ions don't easily penetrate mammalian cell walls.)
The warmer and moister an environment is, the more effective the
reaction, which explains the suitability to workout gear."
 According to Noble Fiber, the silver will last as
long as the garment. Although the amount of silver varies,
depending on the specific product, X-Static generally contains
about 15 percent silver, the company said. Regarding allergies, the
company notes that there have been no documented cases of allergies
to pure silver, which is used in X-Static. Although some people
believe they are allergic to silver jewelry, the jewelry is "made
of an alloy called 'sterling silver' and the people are allergic to
the various other metals in its makeup," the company pointed
out.
Silver can indeed impart health and comfort benefits with few,
if any, side effects. And now O&P practitioners and their
patients can enjoy the benefits of this precious metal with its
antimicrobial, temperature-regulating, anti-odor, and anti-static
qualities.
For more information about X-Static, visit www.x-static.com; for more
information about products mentioned in this article, visit www.knitrite.com, www.juzousa.com, and www.acor.com
Note: The O&P EDGE does not endorse any products;
product information is presented here as representative and for
reader information only. 
Table Of Contents - November 2004
|
|
