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Alpha-Stim® Medical Endorsements
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Overall, pain relief was remarkable, usually rapid and
dramatic.
- Lloyd A. Sparks, M.D.
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Response of Seventeen
Patients to Treatment by Microcurrent Therapy
Seventeen patients were treated in November for various conditions with the
Alpha-Stim unit. Conditions included headaches, neck pain, back pain, low
back pain, sacroiliac pain, leg pain, groin pain, neck swelling, shoulder
pain with decreased ROM, Bell's palsy, and toothache. The treatments were
tolerated well by all but one patient. No adverse side effects were noted
beyond minor transient discomfort and dizziness, both of which subsided with
decrease in current intensity.
Pain, inflammation and decreased range of motion (ROM) were treated on
patients as they presented in our office. There was no selection or
inclusion criteria; all were treated by one therapist trained in the use of
the Alpha-Stim unit according to the published recommendations for each
condition. For those conditions not specifically described in the
literature, the principle of bracketing the pain with the probes for
10-second intervals was observed.
A total or almost total relief of the condition was described as excellent.
Relief by more than half but with residual condition remaining was described
as good. Noticeable relief was described as fair. No noticeable effect was
described as none. Any worsening of the condition or development of side
effects persisting despite use of the machine on the lowest setting was
described as not tolerated.
In assessing the patients' overall results, the results of therapy on each
separate condition were considered. Of interest is that mixed results
(excellent and good) were obtained from only one patient. Each patient
seemed to respond with similar success for each condition.
Only one patient had mixed results (excellent relief from a headache, good
relief from a long-standing swelling in the left posterior triangle of the
neck of uncertain origin). Seven out of 17 patients had excellent results.
Three had good results. Four had fair results. No one had no effect. One
patient found any sensation of electricity intolerable, even at settings
insensible to most people.
Two patients are worthy of note, one having been electrocuted a year before
and the other having massive scarring from a burn accident years before.
Both experienced only fair relief from conditions which were not at the time
of treatment particularly intense (back pain at less than 5:10 and not
intense enough to prevent sleep).
Overall, pain relief was remarkable, usually rapid and dramatic. In the only
joint pain case, a previously restricted ROM (50-60% of normal) was restored
to 80% normal after one treatment and 100% normal after the second. That
patient had been previously unresponsive to ultrasound, diathermy, passive
gymnastics and manipulation. The instant relief of a toothache in a patient
scheduled for a root canal was also impressive. Most impressive, however,
was the total restoration to normal of a Bell's palsy patient within a week
by three times daily application of the electrodes at 100 Hz to the putative
area of the lesion (point of exit of the facial nerve from the skull).
This material is reproduced with the permission of
Electromedical Products International, Inc. © 2006
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