Originally published November 18, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified November 19, 2007 at 2:46 PM
Lance Armstrong's chiropractor paid to endorse machine
Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is marketed worldwide as an EPFX success story. Scores of EPFX executives and operators...
Seattle Times staff reporters
Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is marketed worldwide as an EPFX success story.
Scores of EPFX executives and operators claim that Armstrong was treated with the device during the grueling bike race. His name and photo adorn dozens of Web sites and newsletters touting the EPFX, a device that purports to diagnose and heal disease with radio frequencies.
Even Armstrong's chiropractor, Jeffrey Spencer, wrote in an EPFX newsletter that the device played an "important role" in the 2003 U.S. cycling team victory.
But Armstrong, through his lawyer, said he has never heard of the device, has never been treated with it, and doesn't endorse it.
Lawyer William Stapleton of Austin, Texas, told The Seattle Times he has sent cease-and-desist letters to EPFX operators and Web sites, demanding they stop any false claims.
Spencer said he did use the device to treat some members of the U.S. cycling team during the 2003 and 2007 Tour de France, but never used it on Armstrong.
He now says the EPFX played only a minor role in the team's success. He declined to identify whom he treated.
Spencer, licensed in California, said he was shocked that EPFX operatives distributed materials saying he used the machine to treat Armstrong.
"I feel like I've been hijacked," he said.
The Times found that Spencer was paid by promoters of the EPFX, manufactured by William Nelson, a federal fugitive wanted on health-care-fraud charges.
Spencer has been paid $20,000 since 2003 to speak at four EPFX conferences. At last year's convention in Budapest, he trained attendees on how to use the device to diagnose ailments and treat injury.
Spencer also has sold his DVD sports-medicine lecture series through The Quantum Alliance, in Calgary, Alberta, EPFX's largest distributor. He said he also promoted another energy device, a bedsheet system that purportedly sends therapeutic frequencies through its silver fibers.
![]()
Spencer denied he has used the EPFX to diagnose or heal.
Yet he admitted he wrote a testimonial in an EPFX newsletter, saying the device could deliver long-distance therapies to cyclists during races.
Spencer said he is retracting these published statements. He said he wrote them when he was tired and distracted while traveling.
He said he also will send out cease-and-desist letters to Nelson, The Quantum Alliance and EPFX operators.
"I would certainly not ever use this device again or recommend it to anybody," he said.
Michael J. Berens: 206-464-2288 or mberens@seattletimes.com; Christine Willmsen: 206-464-3261 or cwillmsen@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
Seattle safety project: A snake shelter on Beacon Hill

2009 fireworks time lapse
With strict parking rules enforced at this year's July 4th celebration on Wallingford Ave North, less cars and more spectators filled the streets.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
shopping

events for Sunday, Jul. 5th
- Nordstrom Men's Half-Yearly Sale
- Emery's Garden Pink Flamingo Sale
- REI Summer Sale and Clearance
- Pink Ginger First Anniversary Sale
editors' picks
More shopping guides- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Former NFL MVP McNair killed
- Russell Branyan, Mariners fight off the Red Sox
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Palin takes to Web for hints of political future
- Fourth of July festivals and fireworks in Seattle, the suburbs and beyond
- Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- The Blotter | Man pistol-whipped after argument at nightclub
- Palin resigning as Alaska governor
785 - Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox: 07/05 game thread
247 - Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
162 - Hatred for the NBA runs deep, but don't take it out on the players
126 - Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
117 - Former NFL MVP McNair killed
112 - Property taxes: Appeals shoot up is King, Snohomish Counties
103 - Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
93 - Anti-tax rally in Olympia attracts about 1,500
62 - Seeking your questions
48
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Merchant Marine veterans fight for recognition
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Close-up | Prison guards intercept carrier pigeon with a cellphone
- Amtrak cleared for 2nd daily train to Vancouver, B.C.
- Pre-grill drill: marinate steaks
- Concert Review | Green Day blasts off 4th weekend with KeyArena show
- Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision



