Electro-acupuncture gadgets for home-use are one of the best discoveries in treating muscle pains in the comforts of our homes. Muscle and joint pains are common most especially to elderly men and women alike. Although there are oral medications popular for treating rheumatism and other forms of muscle pains, it is still best to stay away from these drugs as much as possible. Topical medications like hot creams or cold creams may not be an effective remedy as these directly address the source that causes the pain but may only serve as relaxants.
The first electro-acupuncture gadget introduced is the combination of an old Chinese acupuncture method and an electronic device attached to the needles to deliver electric pulses on specific points that need treatment. In this method, a trained acupuncturist is needed so that the process can be administered properly. As such, a patient cannot do it alone.
Today there are electro-acupuncture machines or gadgets that no longer require insertion of the needle to the skin. This has made the process much safer to be done at home even without any supervision from an expert acupuncturist. Some of the common portable electro-acupuncture gadgets are TENS, acupuncture pens, and aculife.
TENS or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is a device that uses at least two electrodes to send tiny electric currents to the skin all the way through the nerves and muscles which relieves acute or chronic pain. Modern designs now come with four electrodes in a unit.
Acupuncture pens or acupens are pen-like gadgets which its ends can locate acupuncture points. The device is placed or passed over on top of the hand or skin and is able to detect acupuncture points by measuring the skin’s resistance to electrical currents. It may be placed directly to the area of pain whether or not identified as an acupuncture point. Being small and portable, this has become a popular choice for people who are always on the go. This is preferred by many old adults who find the gadget easy to get accustomed with. The product normally comes with a guide that will help the user to concentrate on a specific area to be sure that acupuncture points are located.
Aculife is an electro-acupuncture mainly used on the hand. Unlike an acupen which has a built-in device to trace acupuncture points, this product comes with a printed guide on where to find these points in the human hands. It uses electromagnetic impulses which can stimulate the human body that produces endorphins. It also helps to produce red and white blood cells which generally helps and promote healing of body ailments. Aculife promises to bring all the benefits that are given by traditional Chinese acupuncture.
Most people of course have heard of acupuncture and may have had it done before. Acupuncture of course is the ancient Chinese technique of applying special needles to certain restoring points on the body to help relieve pain and even some ailments. These restoring points area also considered the flow of the body. Even though it is painless there are a lot of people who just can’t stand the idea of someone putting a bunch of needles in their body and that is where electro acupuncture comes into play as an alternative to the ancient acupuncture.
This type of acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine also known as acupoint and it implements the use of electrical pads instead of needles. These pads are placed in the same areas in which the acupuncture needles would be placed. Then an electric current will run through the pads and will provide those points of the body with the same kind of stimulation that the needles would except that the stimulation is electricity that swirls around onto the area that the pads are located.
The electrical impulses will deliver anywhere from forty to eighty volts of electricity during each session. This is basically all the average patient requires from each of the sessions that they might have. The good thing about this technique is that the electric current does not run through the entire body but only to the area where the pads are located.
Regular acupuncture of course has been used for thousands of years, electro acupuncture is relatively new. It was not discovered until around 1934 and at the time was simply an extension of the manipulation done by hand by the acupuncturist and would let them work on more than one patient at a time.
The benefits of this type of technique is for both the patient and the practitioner. It’s good for the practitioner because it is like a substitute for their own hands and of course the needles so the patient is still being stimulated for the period time needed without the practitioner getting tired during the session. This also means for the patient that the time of the session is actually a lot shorter than the traditional acupuncture session and there is no risk of damage to the tissues or the muscles. This type of treatment is especially good for those who are suffering from neurological problems. This is also easy to control than acupuncture with needles.
This type of treatment is best for neurological problems like someone with chronic pain or for paralysis or those who suffer from muscle spasms. The treatments are short lasting just 10 to 20 minutes normally and are only given once or twice a week.
Acupuncture is becoming the most commonly used treatment in the US. It is gaining popularity as an effective treatment for various health conditions. However, many people are still reluctant to try electric acupuncture therapy since they consider it risky and mysterious. Other people consider acupuncture as an ancient treatment by Chinese people who did it years ago in a small room behind their noodle shop.
Well, this is not the reality. It is the right time that the veil of mystery and risk be removed from electro acupuncture treatment and tell you some facts that you might not have known. The following list is interesting but can be very surprising for you.
1. Acupuncture can be divided into several kinds. In fact, it is not online an old Chinese medicine, auricular (ear) acupuncture refers to the Japanese style, Korean refer it is as hand acupuncture, and there are also five phase acupuncture included in the list.
2. Researchers have also concluded that electro acupuncture can affect the chemistry of the brain positively. It gives the brain new ideas and clues and helps the brain to work well.
3. Acupuncture has a very old history – thousands of years old. It was first introduced in China as an effective way of treating fevers, infections and other ailments. The system developed comprehensively over the centuries and became an internal medicine system using food therapy, massage, heat, herbs together with the usage of needles and electricity.
4. The body has more than 365 acupuncture points. And surprisingly, all points have name according to its function or location. Some common names are celestial tripod, crouching rabbit, and armpit abyss.
5. Several medical health conditions can be treated with electric acupuncture. Many people think it is only used for treating chronic and acute pain in different parts of the body. However, this is not the only role of this therapy. It can be very helpful to treat emotional conditions, menopause/menstrual issues, digestive problems, insomnia, and facial rejuvenation.
6. The needles used in acupuncture therapy are very tiny (about a hair’s diameter). The needles require no shots and injections are almost painless.
7. If two patients are undergoing acupuncture treatment, it doesn’t mean that the two treatments will be the same. As every individual is unique with different lifestyle, health history, and symptoms, the treatment for each patient will also be customized according to their needs.
Benefits of Acupuncture
Some people do not consider acupuncture to be a real form of medical treatment. Many doctors even scoff at its use but it has been in use for thousands of years and it has always produced real results.
Acupuncture is a form of Chinese medicine which uses very thin needles to adjust the meridians of the body. The needle is inserted at a designated point on the body and seated with a tap to the top. It is used successfully in the treatment of chronic pain, arthritis, headaches, ulcers and more. It has even been used instead of anesthesia in some circumstances. Because acupuncture doesn’t raise the blood pressure or stay in the blood after the procedure is finished, it is the choice in childbirth and some kinds of surgery where the patient needs to be awake and alert.
Acupuncture does not work in a manner that is easily figured out. The person doing the acupuncture might insert needles in the rim of a person’s ear to treat an entirely different part of the body. It is supposed to allow the chi force of the body to move freely through the different parts of the body. When chi is blocked, a needle is inserted to open the pathway. The chi flows through meridians of the body and can be positive or negative. Beyond this, western medicine thinks that acupuncture releases endorphins and that this stimulation of these chemicals relieves pain. Western physicians also think that the use of acupuncture does something to the pituitary gland so that it releases anti inflammatories. Leave it to us to try to re-think something that has worked perfectly well for thousands of years.
Acupuncture began to be an accepted practice in the 1970’s and there are now many schools that teach and license the procedure. Of course, though western physicians have begun to accept and even use acupuncture, they still call it a placebo effect; typical.
Electro acupuncture has been found to reduce the inflammation in ALS. ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is the scientific name for Lou Gehrig’s disease named for the famous ball player who had it. This disorder paralyzes the nerves and muscles in the body causing degeneration of the motor neurons. Eventually a person with ALS loses the ability to speak, move, swallow, and even breathe on his or her own. In a word, it is a horrible death but an even more horrible way to live.
Where formerly patients consulted their chiropractor for acupuncture treatments and he or she billed them as chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture is now being accepted as a treatment by mainstream medicine. It is now described as a complementary medicine and even most insurances will allow for a certain number of treatments per year.
It is important when consulting a person who practices acupuncture that the patient is certain that the person uses new sterile needles with each treatment and disposes of them immediately afterwards to prevent infections.