Dr. Ronald Shapiro

Dr. Ronald Shapiro MD, PhD, FACP (Born 1939), is an American nephrologist, inventor, and researcher. His innovative methods couple drug-free alternative treatments, along with mainstream medical sciences to treat patients in the safest and most effective way possible.
He has authored over 70 published scientific journals and papers over the course of his 50 years in medicine, making fresh discoveries and insights in the joint pain and renal fields.
He is best known in collaboration with David Sutton, for his development of the digital medical device The Willow Curve, and coining the condition, “Toxic Joint Syndrome.”
Early Career:
While serving on the faculty of the University of Toledo Medical Center (formally the Medical College of Ohio), Dr. Shapiro was a member of many teaching and institutional developmental programs. In 1970, he established and administered the NW Ohio Regional Tissue Typing Laboratory which supported the region’s first and only Renal Transplant Program, which was co-developed with urologist/transplant surgeon Dr. Kenneth Kropp. Additionally, he established and directed the dialysis program and the Total Renal Care Unit at the college. He served in these capacities until entering private practice in 1981. He was admitted into numerous national and international societies, including the International Society of Nephrology,The American College of Physicians, The American Heart Association Council on the Kidney, The American Federation for Clinical Research, and The American Association of Tissue Banks.
Membership in local and regional associations included: The Ohio State Medical Association, The Toledo Lucas County Academy of Medicine (serving as chairman of several Academy Commissions), NWO Health Planning Committee, State of Ohio Renal Disease Coordinating Committee, Co-Director of Dialysis Units at Mercy and Riverside Hospitals, and Mercy Health Partners Regional Task Force on Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Merging Modern and Holistic Medicine:
As a Nephrologist in the early 1970’s, Dr. Shapiro recognized the dilemma of providing adequate pain management and the risks imposed to the kidneys and other organ systems from the use of analgesics, narcotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NASIDS). It became quite clear to him that a number of traditional medicine approaches to pain control were not acceptable options in the patient population for which he was caring. This ignited his interest in exploring safer methods to manage pain in his own patients and in those he was seeing in consultation.
This placed him on the path of national and international study of alternative pain relief options. Dr. Shapiro sought training and mentorships with national and international notable leaders in various fields of holistic practice. Subsequently he earned a doctoral degree in acupuncture. In the mid-1980s, he had begun melding aspects of alternative techniques and approaches into his clinical practice, teaching and research.
He was admitted into the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and became a full member of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, which is a physician-only professional acupuncture society in North America. He has been a supporting member of The American Pain Society, The Acupuncture Society of Michigan and served on the Mercy Health Partners Regional Task force on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Dr. Shapiro is a strong advocate against the overuse of prescription pain medication as well as questionable treatment practices for chronic pain.
He is currently among a few Nephrologists in the Midwest who are experts at treating pain with drug-free acupuncture.
Scientific Development of Toxic Joint Syndrome:
At the turn of the century, Dr. Shapiro along with David Sutton, CEO of Physician Technology, and physicians of a variety of disciplines including Cardiology, Dentistry, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, and Physical Medicine, coined a new condition/terminology that effected over 100 million Americans. They termed this “Toxic Joint Syndrome,” also known as “TJS”. This concept has become quite useful in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to a wide spectrum of conditions affecting joints. His research and medical expertise explored the harmful and life-limiting effects TJS had on his patents, including physical and chemical joint abnormalities, symptomology, joint kinetics, and joint performance failure.
Because of the pain associated with TJS, Dr. Shapiro discovered many of his patients “taking pills for symptomatic relief, began a lifetime of dependency. Some cases could mean 15,000 pain pills or more through the course of the debility." Dr. Shapiro concluded TJS was a “significant burden to our society, because of the reduced quality of life, impaired performance, income loss from escalating debility, and significant monetary burdens from medication and procedures.”
The Willow Curve:
To combat the effects of Toxic Joint Syndrome and offer patients alternative options to medication with potential harmful effects, Dr. Shapiro, David Sutton and a team of physicians, bio-physicists and bio-engineers researched and developed technology which culminated into the medical device known as the Willow Curve.
The Willow Curve became a valuable tool to address TJS. Favorable results included reduced pain and swelling, and improved joint mobility and performance. It is a safe, noninvasive option to address TJS and potentially limits or reduces the need of pain pills and allows the postponement of elective surgery in those who were either not surgical candidates or who preferred to opt out of a procedure. The efficacy of the Willow Curve was validated in a controlled, randomized, double blind, peer reviewed published study.
The Willow Curve uses Dynamic Thermal Kinetic and Photonic laser smart technology to noninvasively treat and relieve painful and debilitating musculoskeletal conditions.
The 5th generation device, the Willow Curve, was determined 510K exempt and cleared for marketing and home use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The device has been observed to activate 15 bio-physiologic processes in the body which results in suppression of pain signals in joints, cleansing the joint of toxic debris and improving joint performance.
Scientific studies of the technology and The Willow Curve were conducted in 2005 and 2013 . They were published in Dialysis & Transplantation in 2005 and in Orthopedic Research and Reviews in 2013. In both studies, researchers concluded the MedLite (predecessor to the Willow Curve) and the Willow Curve device “can be a valuable alternative or complimentary treatment for chronic knee pain” and found patients who used a precursor iteration of the Willow Curve “revealed great satisfaction with the effectiveness of the device and its ease of use.”
The Willow Curve is outfitted with a bio-sensory data capture module, a central processing unit that analyzes the data and then creates a customized digital prescription delivered by a therapeutic module. This digital prescription is composed of multiple energies, which change thousands of times per second resulting in both favorable effects and prevention of adaptation by the body.
The Willow Curve system is used the United States and abroad by thousands in hospitals, clinics, elite military members (including Navy Seals), high school, college, and professional athletes, and by members of the performing arts.
Scientific Awards and Accomplishments:
Dr. Ronald Shapiro is known for discovering Toxic Joint Syndrome, and helping develop the technology embodied in Willow Curve through his extensive knowledge of drug-free pain treatments and cutting-edge medical technology.
Dr. Shapiro was awarded the Medical Award from the Northwestern Ohio Kidney Foundation for his renal care and research. He has been internationally recognized in 1986 as a Doctor of Science Medicina Alternativa in Sri Lanka in and in 1990 as an Honorary Advisor by the International Academy of Scientific Acupuncture in Bombay, India.
Further Selected Reading and Publications:
Woodson RD., Shapiro RS, Single and Multiple Mechanically Stapled Arteriovenous Fistula for
Chronic Hemodialysis - Abstracts - American Society of Nephrology , Nov 1971
Shapiro RS, Woodson RD, Bartholomay AF The Use of Activated Partial Thromboplastin
Time to Monitor Anticoagulation in Uremic Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis, Dialysis &
Transplantation, Apr 1975; 56-58.
Vetter L, Shapiro RS, An Approach to Dietary Management of the Renal Patient, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Feb 1975; 158-62.
Shapiro RS, [http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(76)80758-5/abstract A Home-Made Method for Peritoneal Dialysis in the Neonate]. Journal of Pediatrics, Jan 1976; 160.
Bachmann K, Shapiro RS, MacKiewics J, Influence of Renal Dysfunction on Warfarin Plasma Protein Binding. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Vol. 16, No. 10, Oct 1976; 468-72.
Shapiro RS., Desmukh, A, Kropp KA, . Transplantation, Vol. 22, No. 5, Nov. 1976; 489-92.
Bachmann K, Shapiro RS, MacKiewics, J, . Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Jun 1977; 292-9.
Bachmann K, Shapiro RS, [http://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00003088-197702020-00003#page-1 Protein Binding of Coumarin Anticoagulants in Disease States -Clinical Pharmacokinetics], 2:110-126, 1977; 110-26.
Tan SY, Shapiro RS, Franco R, Stockard HE, Mulrow PJ, Indomethacin - . Clinical Research, Vol. 25, No. 4, Oct 1977.
Kropp KA, Shapiro RS, Jhunjhunwala J, Role of Renal Biopsy in End Stage Renal Failure. Urology, Vol. XII, No. 6, Dec 1978; 631-4.
Tan SY, Shapiro RS, Kish MA, Reversible Acute Renal Failure Induced by Indomethacin. JAMA, Vol. 241, No. 25, Jun 1979; 2732-3.
Bachmann K, Shapiro RS, Fulton R, Caroll T, Sullivan T, Smoking and Warfarin Disposition. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Mar 1979; 309-15.
Bachmann K, Valentovic M, Shapiro RS, A Possible Role for Cyanate in the Albumin Binding Defect of Uremia. Biochemical Pharmacology, Vol. 29, 1980; 1598-1601.
Kollarits CR, Shapiro RS, Swann ER, Roche R, Kollarits FJ, Effect of Hemodialysis on Selected Physical Ocular Parameters. Metabolic and Pediatric Ophthalmology, Vol. 5,1981; 73-76.
Suzuki S, Shapiro RS, Mulrow PJ, Tan SY, . Prostaglandin Medicine, May 1980; 377-82.
Bachmann K, Valentovic M, Shapiro RS, The Contributions of Cyanate to the Albumin Binding Defect of Uremia. Biochemical Pharmacology, Vol. 30, 1981; 1059-1063.
Bachmann K, Shapiro RS, Forney R, Warfarin Binding to Plasma of Workers Exposed to Toluene Disocyanate. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Therapy, and Toxicology, Vol. 20, No. 2, 1982; 47-50.
Swann E, Shapiro RS, Gillespie C, Shealy R, HLA AI and Steroid-Induced Cataracts in Renal Transplant Patients. Annals of Ophthalmology, Vol. 14, No. 12, Dec 1982; 1116-1118.
Somami P, Simon V, Gupta RD, King P, Shapiro RS, Stockard H. Lorcainide Kinetics and Protein Binding in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology; International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Jan 1984; 121-125.
Shapiro RS, An Innovative Aid to Augment Complementary Medicine Techniques. American Chiropractor, Aug 1988.
Shapiro RS, Diminution of Electroencephalographic Muscle Tremor Artifact. Journal of Intensive Care Medicine, Vol. 4, No. 5, Sep-Oct 1989; 234-235.
Shapiro RS, Deshetler N, Stockard HE, Fluid Overload Again! - A Technique to Enhance Fluid Compliance. Dialysis and Transplantation, Vol. 23, No. 6, June 1994; 303-305.
Bachmann K, Sullivan TJ, Reese JH, Jaurequi L, Miller K, Scott M, Sides D, Shapiro RS, The Influence of Dirithromycin on the Pharmacokinetics of Cyclosporin in Healthy Subjects and in Renal Transplant Patients. American Journal of Therapeutics 2,1995; 490-497.
Shapiro RS, Simple and Effective Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis - An Alternative Approach for Physicians. Medical Acupuncture, - Vol 9, No. 1, Spring/Summer 1997; 26-31.
Shapiro RS, Stockard, HE, [http://cat.inist.fr/?aModeleafficheN&cpsidt14770133 Successful Treatment of Uremic Puritus: The Acupuncture Approach Revisited], Dialysis and Transplantation, Vol 32, No 5, May 2003.
Shapiro RS, Bachmann K, Dunlap RC, Safe and Effective Relief of Knee Pain for the Patient with Renal Insufficiency and Renal Failure - New Technology. Dialysis and Transplantation, Vol. 34, No. 11; November 2005, 758-766.
Shapiro RS, Bertrand CA, , Medicine Up To The Minute, http://www.medicineuptotheminute.com/, December, 2011
Shapiro RS, Thaxton LL, Bertrand, CA, Chelucci, KM, Davis, KR, Fadell, . Monograph published by Physician’s Technology, 2012.
Chelucci KM, Shapiro RS, Bachmann K, White D, Clinical Evaluation of a Non-Invasive Technology for the Treatment of Chronic Joint Symptoms. Journal of Orthopedic Research and Review. Vol. 2013:5, January 2013; 5-11.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu