Before I start explaining what is Electroacupuncture let me tell you an anecdote. Some time ago I met an old acquaintance who told me about his recent medical periplus. While carrying some furniture he injured his back and neck. He felt a pervasive pain that didn’t go away as month passed, additionally he felt an increasingly rigidity on his neck and back muscles. He went through many medical specialists during those months, trying to diagnose what his problem was. After eight months a neurologist diagnosed him with cervical dystonia, also called spasmodic torticollis. It is a condition in which your neck muscles contract involuntarily, causing your head to twist or turn to one side.
Contents
- 1 Why I Believe Electroacupuncture Is Effective
- 1.1 What Electroacupuncture Therapy Is About
- 2 Acupuncture Success Stories
- 2.1 Ruby’s Arthritis Story
- 2.2 Whitney’s Fertility Success Story
- 3 A Therapy Anyone Can Use at Home
- 3.1 Learn to Treat Yourself at Home
- 3.2 Electroacupuncture Pen Practical Video
- 3.3 Facial Rejuvenation with Electroacupuncture
The solution, inject Botulinum toxin in the affected area, kill the nerve and wait for it to regenerate (if it regenerates) It’s possible it will never regenerate to the point it was before the injury. The result, he’s been injured for a year by now. Doctors have advised him not to stand up or walk for long because his muscles start to contract and he’s still waiting for the approval of the toxin injection. The injection’s cost is prohibitive so he must wait until the public funded healthcare here in the EU gives the OK. Public funded healthcare may seem an advantage for US readers but waiting lists for the most common operations can be up to a year long. People have died waiting for an approval.
This man has to spend most of his day laying down, unable to function or work normally. All because of a huge bureaucratic machine that can’t provide quick and efficient solutions to patients. I quickly told him about how effective Electroacupuncture can be for his type of problem. He was very interested and thirsty to know more. After recommending him a link to an acupuncture clinic and some videos of success stories of patients with spasmodic torticollis he was happy to make an appointment with them. This person reminded me how efficiently the medical industry has discredited acupuncture as something esoteric, bordering a pseudo-science, while the reality is quite the contrary. A simple search in a scholar paper search engine will return hundred of rigorous medical studies proving how effective this therapy is compared with traditional medication.
A Sad Truth & A New Hope
He went to the acupuncture clinic but the price tag was prohibitive for his budget: 81€~$90 per session and the acupuncturist told him he needs an average of three sessions per week to recover. That makes $270 per week, this doesn’t help to make acupuncture more accessible for the people. The average in USA is $75 but there are clinics that charge up to $300 while others as low as $40. My friend initial curiosity decreased as skepticism took its place and he ended opting to do one session per week experiencing improvement but greatly diminished. He’s currently keeping his session per week out of despair since the botulinic toxin procedure hasn’t been approved yet.
This should not happen, health should be accessible for anyone in need and many acupuncturists are doing a disservice charging those rates. I can understand that people have to earn a livelihood but, in my opinion, those rates are too much. Fortunately this has changed recently and, as people are learning about what I will explain below, acupuncture therapy will become a resource anyone can use at home everytime they need it and will stop being a luxury provided only by professionals.
Some years ago Switzerland government consulted its citizens if they wanted complementary therapies like homeopathy or acupuncture to be included in the public healthcare system. They voted with a clear majority to include these therapies in their public healthcare (similar to Medicare but for every Swiss citizen) and right now a Swiss can choose where to get treatment. The public healthcare system was very efficient then but with the inclusion of new professionals the attention is even quicker now. Why can’t the rest of western countries do the same type of voting?
Why I Believe Electroacupuncture is Effective
Returning to Electroacupuncture, why I think is so effective? Because there’s ample scientific evidence of how well it works in a wide range of health problems. Contrary to popular belief it is much easier to learn than what most people think. Just learning the approximate locations to put the needle for each illness is enough. Modern devices allow you to easily pinpoint the exact location to stimulate with an almost unnoticeable current so no need to stick needles in the skin either. Fortunately you don’t need to have a title in acupuncture, I don’t have one, but regardless this doesn’t stop me from learning for my personal use. You also can easily learn on the go, under your own responsability, whenever you or someone close, need to treat some illness. I will tell you how to easily learn below.
What Is Electroacupuncture Therapy
The history of acupuncture is ancient but ever evolving. It has grown over the use of sharpened stones, bones and needles to electric acupuncture now referred to as Electroacupuncture. This is a form of acupuncture where a small electric current is passed between pairs of acupuncture points. Electroacupuncture was established in China around 1934 as an extension of acupuncture. By the late 1940’s Electroacupuncture was further developed by a German doctor, Dr. Voll who had an interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Through word-of-mouth more and more people started recovering from serious injuries and professionals of many fields started to use this therapy. Eventually its popularity started to extend to the general public. Pharmaceutical companies worried their pain relief medication sales could be affected and started a discredit campaign that lasts until today. Recently a number of Colleges and University Hospital in the EU had suspended PhD courses in acupuncture under pressure from these companies because many of them provide large portion of their annual budget.
The initial high cost of the devices and these discredit campaigns led to a decrease in the popularity of Electroacupuncture, word-of-mouth stopped and the majority of people became skeptic or oblivious on how this therapy could help them with their illnesses. Despite the exclusion of Electroacupuncture from the public healthcare many professionals keep improving and there are a lot of success stories of patients that couldn’t improve their symptoms with traditional medicine and tried Electroacupuncture.
Does It Hurt?
Not at all, only a small tickling sensation, the electric current will be too low for you to feel any pain. Apart from this, many devices can be regulated in intensity so, as you get insensitive to the current you can increase it. In most cases, that tingling sensation is unnoticeable.
Are there any risks associated with Electroacupuncture?
Do not use it if you have a history of heart disease, strokes, pacemaker use, seizures or epilepsy. I do not recommend to use it on your throat, head or over the heart. Also if you have doubts that you can’t solve through a web search discuss the potential risks and benefits with a professional.
Acupuncture Success Stories
There are several in this next video showing the wide range of problems that Acupuncture can treat. The most striking are Lisa with chronic migraines whose neurosurgeon treated her unsuccessfully, telling her that he could do no more for her and giving no alternatives, she remembers how devastating these news were, leaving her in tears. She talks about how she learned about Acupuncture and her progress with it.
Also there’s Cindy who has Degenerative Eye Disease that started when she was 22 years old and progressed until she was left completely blind. She talks about her great progress after a few sessions. There’s Wendy who had depression postpartum and was on wellbutrin, a medication with severe side-effects. And Audria who was on a medical leave from work because of severe back pain.
Ruby Arthritis Story
This lady talks about her experience with Acupuncture helping her arthritis and how she avoided surgery. I recommend to turn on subtitles as the audio quality is low.
Whitney’s Fertility Success Story
Whitney tells of her experience using Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture to conceive naturally after previously having 3 failed Intrauterine Inseminations and 2 cancelled In Vitro Fertilization cycles in a fertility clinic in Atlanta, Georgia.
Electroacupuncture A Therapy Anyone Can Use at Home
Devices have come a long way since those first machines on the photo above. Chinese doctors have kept researching and improving Electroacupuncture to a point where devices are the size of a phone and with the ergonomic shape of a pen. They have an inbuilt system which indicates the user if they located the right acupuncture point successfully activating a LED light and a beeping sound. Then, with the press of a button, you apply a current for a couple of seconds achieving the same effect as if you were treated in an Acupuncture clinic.
How Can I Learn to Treat Myself
It is much easier than you think. Just divide it in small steps and learn as you need it.
- What I do first is search for what problem I want to treat, for example: I’ll type “acupuncture points for migraine” in a search engine.
- Then I will browse the articles and scientific studies in the results, taking notes of the points to stimulate. They will often be something like ST14, KI6, etc. After that I will make a list with every point mentioned in the article or study.
- Then I will use an acupuncture app for smartphones like Zappol Acupuncture Index for Android, Acupuncture Points for iOS storing each point in an easy to browse list inside my app. When I’m ready to do the acupuncture session I will have my smartphone ready, easily reviewing each point whenever I need.
- If you prefer to use your desktop PC you can use Understand Acupuncture in your Internet browser but smartphones are easier for reviewing your points during an acupuncture session in my opinion.
- All applications will show you a picture of the exact location of each point with additional information tabs; to help you locate it better and more details about all the meridians, the organ they govern, what health problems each point is indicated for, etc.
All Apps Are Similar But Let’s Check Understand Acupuncture For Example
- To use the diagram click on “Main Menu” and then on “Acupoints”. The image above shows you an example of how GV28 acupuncture point looks like.
- You can zoom in and out the diagram of the body, click and drag to move the focus to the part of the body you are interested in.
- The right tabs explain each meridian, the lines where the acu-points are located, their function, etc.
- All the apps will help you locate the acupuncture point better through a measurement called cun which is roughly the same as the width of your thumb base knuckle. For us it is better to use the equivalence of 2 cun = width of three fingers. For example if CV3 is 4 cun below the navel, take the measure of the width of six fingers to locate it.
- Once you are ready for your session, check the location of the point in your app or chart, test the nearby area with the Electroacupuncture device, like the one I offer in my site, until it buzzes and its LED lights up. You also have a digital display with a number for a more precise cue.
- The conductivity of the skin changes in each area of your body so you will need to adjust the sensitivity dial to the necessary minimum so that only the acupoint beeps stronger, more than the surrounding area. You can also see the LED display number to have a visual cue.
Tutorial to Adjust The Sensitivity Dial
- When using the probe, for applying the acupen to other person, the sensitivity will rise so adjust the sensitivity dial to a lower number until it beeps only at the exact acupoint and not its surroudings.When using the probe, for applying the acupen to other person, the sensitivity will rise so adjust the sensitivity dial to a lower number until it beeps only at the exact acupoint and not its surroudings.
- Then you can activate it and stimulate the point for two to six seconds. Be careful to adjust the intensity dial to a number where you feel the zap, maybe a little bit of discomfort but never pain.
- Then, you should stimulate the acu-point mirror, the one, on the same spot, on the other half of your body, just like in the video but alternating the points instead of using two devices. Once you’ve stimulated all the points related with your health problem your session is completed. Congratulations!
- Twice or thrice a week will be enough to start seeing improvements on your health condition. The more you practice, the more effective the therapy will be.
As you learn about the potential uses of Electroacupuncture you will see more clearly how this therapy could avoid the suffering of many people but, unfortunately is not going to get very popular or affordable in the near future if professionals keep charging these prices.
People should have the right to treat themselves in a cost-effective way, Electroacupuncture can be accessible to everyone willing to put a small amount of effort to improve their own health. That why I offer the Acu·Doctor Electroacupuncture Device at my shop. I think it is the best investment anyone can make because a good health is the most valuable thing anyone can have. If you want to learn more about the use of this device you can read my article on Acupuncture for TMJ to see how to search for the points to treat this specific mandibular disorder.
Making Electroacupuncture available for the masses is what I’m trying to achieve with the acupuncture pen I offer in the shop section. It allows people with no prior knowledge of Acupuncture treat themselves without fears because the device does most of the work. In the product page I explain much more about its effectiveness, medical research sources, how it works and buyer’s testimonials.
Bonus Facial Rejuvenation
This device has a special head designed to help with facial rejuvenation. It does this through a technique called iontophoresis which increases the permeability of your skin through a low electrical current.
Attach the flat head on the electroacupuncture pen, set the intensity dial to a low value of 1-2 and apply over your face and neck area in short, soft sweeps, on the zones where you will apply your facial creams or nutritive masks later. For this I recommend only natural cosmetics with no artificial additives.
This video gives a great explanation of why some ingredients, foods and vitamins have an antiaging effect and you can use the knowledge to find the best natural mask recipes for rejuvenation.
In addition to this, you can use the smallest sized head to stimulate facial points traditionally used in facial rejuvenation which improve the facial blood flow and collagen production. This video gives a brief introduction on what is facial rejuvenation acupuncture.
But if you really want to stimulate collagen production, which is what really repairs the skin and its wrinkles, I recommend microdermabrasion (I have a blackhead extractor that has a microdermabrasion head) combined with iontophoresis (with the electroacupuncture pen) and a good nutritive mask (snail mucin is one of the best natural ingredients for skin rejuvenation, very popular among Korean women).
If you experienced any of the health problems that Electroacupuncture can treat. If you felt identified with how my friend could not afford a professional acupuncturist, at least you should try an electroacupuncture device for yourself. Search for your particular problem and see how effectively acupuncture can improve it. Its affordable price, the quantity and quality of information online about acupuncture points will allow you to quickly start to treat your problem. See for yourself how much you can improve and share your experience with other readers in the comments below!
I’ve had a great experience with acupuncture, recovering from an injury. The acupuncture clinic I went was very professional but their prices were a bit high for how simple the acupuncture sessions seemed to be. Your web is the first I’ve found that teaches how to do acupuncture at home and it makes all the sense. I will try it for sure!
Thanks for sharing your experience Maria. Let me know if it works well for you.