Electro-therapy for Pain, Depression, Anxiety & Insomnia
Trans-cranial electro-therapy
Micro-current electro-therapy
Electro-therapy was first combined with acupuncture in China in the 1950s as adjunct anesthesia to reduce the amount of drug anesthetics required during surgery. Electro-therapy is safe for long-term use and without known side-effects, and is now widely used in pain management and physical rehabilitation for non-pharmacologic pain control. Electro-therapy can also help treat anxiety, depression and insomnia which often occur with chronic or severe injuries.
Electro-acupuncture enhances both the duration and intensity of acupuncture’s pain relief. Milli-amp electro-stimulation:
- Provokes strong pain control responses through release of the brain’s own opioid neurotransmitters (such as endorphins and enkephalins)–as strong as morphine after 30 minutes according to scientific research
- Interrupts pain/spasm cycles, and can facilitate the gains in joint range-of-motion crucial to physical rehabilitation
- Stimulates proprioceptive nerve fibers, resulting in muscle tension re-balancing and re-education of injured muscles
- Normalizes local blood flow and lymphatic drainage
- Speeds up cell metabolism
- Stimulates tissue repair and regeneration
Needles serves as electrodes to conduct current deep into tissues, resulting in better signal penetration and distribution and more profound and long-lasting pain control than surface electrodes used in trans-cutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS). Electro-acupuncture is generally more comfortable than the strong manual stimulation of acupuncture needles than can be needed to bring about pain relief.
At the Acupuncture Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Clinic, we use only the highest-quality Pantheon devices that are used in scientific research to provide electro-acupuncture.
Trans-cranial electro-stimulation (TCES)
TCES is an FDA-approved micro-amp electro-therapy, applied through electrodes clipped to earlobes. TCES is indicated for treatment of:
- depression
- anxiety
- insomnia
- chronic spinal pain
- headaches
- fibromyalgia
TCES restores normal levels of mood- and pain-regulating neurotransmitters, thus bringing about a relaxed feeling of well-being and decreasing pain sensitivity. At the Acupuncture Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Clinic, we use the Alpha-stim device to provide TCES simultaneously with acupuncture for synergistic benefits. Alpha-stimulation helps even very anxious and needle-phobic patients relax during acupuncture for a profoundly calming and re-freshing treatment experience. Patients often report they sleep better after combined alpha-stim/acupuncture treatments.
Major depression and severe anxiety are serious medical conditions that warrant evaluation and treatment by a licensed mental health professional. Alpha-stimulation is provided only as an adjunct for other forms of treatment.
Micro-current electro-therapy
Micro-amperage electro-therapy has been shown to generate a strong tissue-building response, with up to 500% increase of ATP (the nucleotide molecule often referred to as the body’s “energy currency” for its central role in cell metabolism) and production and migration of amino acids into the treated area within one hour, resulting in increased protein synthesis and tissue repair at the treatment site.
Micro-current electro-therapy is more subtle than milli-amp electro-acupuncture, and is primarily used for tissue healing rather than pain control. Micro-current acupuncture is also a safe alternative for patients who find they are too sensitive for milli-amp electro-acupuncture.
At the Acupuncture Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Clinic, we use only the highest-quality Pantheon devices that are used in scientific research to provide micro-amp electro-acupuncture.
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Electro-Acupuncture (EA) or Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (PENS)
Electro-acupuncture, also described as Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (PENS), was first developed in China in the 1950s to provide adjunct anesthesia to reduce the amount of pharmacological anesthetics required during surgery. Properly-administered PENS is safe for long-term use and without side-effects, and now widely used in pain management and physical rehabilitation.
Electrical stimulation enhances both the duration and intensity of acupuncture€™s pain relief. Milliamp electrical stimulation of nerve fibers provokes strong pain control responses through release of the brain€™s own opioid neurotransmitters (such as endorphins and enkephalins). Beyond short-term pain relief, PENS analgesia also interrupts neuromuscular pain/spasm cycles, and can facilitate the gains in joint range-of-motion crucial to physical rehabilitation. Electro-stimulation also normalizes local blood flow and lymphatic drainage, speeds up cell metabolism, and thereby promotes tissue repair and regeneration..
Microcurrent Electrical Therapy (MET)
Microamps electrical therapy has been shown to generate a strong tissue-building response, with up to 500% increase of ATP production and migration of amino acids into the treated area within one hour, resulting in increased protein synthesis and tissue repair at the treatment site. It is primary used for tissue healing rather than pain control.
Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES)
CES is an FDA-approved and evidence-based microcurrent electrotherapy applied through electrodes clipped to earlobes, indicated for treatment of depression, anxiety and insomnia. CES is also used for chronic spinal pain, headaches, dental pain, and fibromyalgia. CES restores normal levels of mood- and pain-regulating neurotransmitters in stressed subjects, thus bringing about a relaxed feeling of well-being and decreasing pain sensitivity.