Electrifying solutions to treating athletic injuries F-A-S-T
L the event of a sports injury, most likely the athlete will be treated to “RICE”— the timehonored treatment of Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. This protocol consists of removing the rain contributing to the injury, cooling down the inflammation process to alleviate swelling and bruising, applying pressure and keeping the injured process and a necessary part of healing, scar not necessarily an athlete's best friend.
While some scarring is necessary, the body will often err on the side of forming excessive scar tissue, which can affect the circulation, strength and flexibility of the injured area. All three of these effects can hurt your game and contribute to future area elevated, preferably above the heart level, to further control swelling. It’s a commonsense and injuries. easily applied protocol, but it has certain been the subject of several articles in BFS. A method called Active Release Techniques® treatment (ART) has proven to be particularly effective in returning a previously injured area to optimal functionality. limitations.
The problem with the RICE approach is that although it is very effective in minimizing the Coping with the negative effects of scarring has extent of swelling to an area, it can do nothing to promote healing. Once the bruising and swelling When employed during the healing process, stop, the body will begin the healing process of flexibility and decrease healing time. And this is just the beginning. Top-level professional trainers are now using revolutionary clearing out the damaged tissues and blood in the injured tissues, and of rebuilding. This process inevitably promotes stiffness in the area due to lack of use (activity will promote swelling) and the development of scar tissue.
Although the formation of scar tissue is a reaction to the inflammation treatment with ART can even prevent some loss of approaches to manage pain after an injury, decrease the swelling, and speed healing. The results have been very exciting, even electrifying, you might say.
Dr. Sonja Pettersen performs a microcurrent treatment on professional golfer Tag Ridings. Whereas frequency-specific microcurrent treatment typically is used for acute injures, many athletes have also incorporated the treatment into their general maintenance programs. between subtle electrical currents and pain and healing.
Citing a multitude of experiments, the authors bioelectric medicine in the form of a TENS noted that when an injury disrupts the natural (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit. A TENS unit is used to control pain and works by electrical flow of the skin or of the nerves to an injured area, healing is impaired. Therefore, making exhausting the pain receptors in the treated area by the goal of a healing therapy to re-establish this overwhelming them with electrical impulses. This current makes sense because once the current is electrical approach is widely accepted and is again flowing, the body can heal more rapidly.
In the incorporated into my own physical rehabilitation and case of non-healing bone fractures, the application of chronic pain management programs. appropriate electrical stimulation ultimately leads to Microcurrent electrical therapy, or MET, works differently from TENS. MET works on a cellular union of the bones.
Additional studies conducted to specifically level, rather than by affecting pain receptors. assess wound healing with microcurrent therapy in According to an ever-growing body of research, not various situations have produced exciting results. only can MET control pain, it can also accelerate Here are a few: healing. The mechanism by which MET works is not WOUND HEALING, In 1968, a study of patients. fully understood, but what is known is that wounds with chronic leg ulcers due to circulatory heal 40 percent faster when they are kept moist, rather than dry. This effect is believed to be due to problems showed that the ulcers healed completely after six weeks of MET.
These the moisture re-establishing the bioelectric flow results have been repeated in various skin ulcer across the wound, which is necessary for the body to conduct the healing process. acceleration in the rate of healing. Wounds have In the 1960s, animal studies first indicated that been decontaminated of infectious bacteria by electrical stimulation accelerated wound healing and MET, as shown in studies in 1983, 1985 and resulted in stronger scar tissue formation. In their 1992. classic book on the bioelectrical foundation of the human body, The Body Electric, Robert O.
Becker, M.D., and Gary Selden discussed the relationship PAIN CONTROL, In a study presented at the June 2000 American Physical Therapy Association Dr. Albert Abrams, M.A., M.D., LL.D.
Born in 1863, Dr. Abrams introduced a calibrated instrument that could assist in the detection of the disease radiaAssociation tions of living tissues. His work provided the groundwork for the science known as Radionics.
Many health care practitioners are using microcurrent devices based upon Dr. Abrams’ discoveries. In fact, since 1997 Dr. Pettersen (shown opposite page) has trained over 300 health care practitioners in frequency specific microcurrent. spasms of the perispinal muscles.
Indianapolis, Indiana, the effect of MET as a ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS. Daniel Kirsch, PhD, patients who had received arthroscopic ACL studied MET and found, in a study published in reconstruction (see the November/December 2004 issue of BFS for cutting-edge tips on Management, that in addition to dramatic avoiding ACL injuries).
the Textbook of American Academy of Pain showed that for the ten-postoperative days experienced with depression, general pain, during which MET was used, the MET patients muscle tension and arthritis, significant showed significantly lower pain levels and improvement was also found among patients decreased use of pain medication than the suffering from pain in the back, hips, legs, feet, control group. shoulders, arms and hands.
ATHLETIC INJURIES. MET studies in India have produced very promising results for athletes.
MET was first introduced to India by American Microcurrent therapy operates at a different doctor Jin Suzuki in 1982. In 2001, Indian ACE frequency and power than TENS, and uses only current measured by millivolts. Treatment is hamstring injury, used microcurrent treatment to generally painless and imperceptible, although some alleviate pain and accelerate healing. She patients note a very slight tingling sensation. subsequently won four gold medals at the However, the patient must be very well hydrated for Federation Cup Games in India that year. the treatment to be effective.
According to Dr. Sanghavi, a pioneer of the the injury, in either an X-pattern or with graphite collagen, alleviating stiffness in an injured area. gloves on either side of the injury or with wet towels He has found that of the 207 patients he treated at the patient’s neck and feet. Athletes, having larger significant-to-moderate improvement and the remaining patients all showed mild improvement During a treatment, current is applied through MET therapy program in India, MET disperses than the general population’s, tolerate for treatment.
Microcurrent treatment is thought to work by dramatically increasing the cells’ energy production successfully used microcurrent technology to of ATP, often by four to five times. MET can also treat frozen shoulders, hamstring tears, and dramatically reduce the levels of Substance P, a player Chris Hetherington receives a frequencyspecific microcurrent treatment. Pro athletes from numerous sports have taken a keen interest in this treatment because of the positive effect it has on pain management and reducing swelling after injures.
potent pain neurotransmitter, as well as increase the levels of endorphins, which help the body deal with Whereas general MET is a more random approach, FSM is carefully designed to treat the pain. exact tissues and condition affecting the patient. As noted by Charles Poliquin of the Poliquin While FSM treatment typically is used for acute Performance Center in Tempe, Arizona, the injuries, many athletes have also incorporated the treatment should begin within a few hours of the treatment into their general maintenance programs. injury or surgery. Treatment within that time window dramatically decreases swelling and improves The expert behind FSM is Dr. C.
McMakin, who heads a chronic-pain healing time. In his practice Poliquin has even found Portland, Oregon. Dr. McMakin is responsible in that the microcurrent treatment has decreased the large measure for bringing this new therapy to the period of swelling after ACL surgery, during which forefront of the athletic community, and she rehabilitation cannot begin, from about 14 days to 2- regularly conducts workshops training medical had spectacular results. called Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM).
This located around the country and are experienced in type of microcurrent treatment involves a specially dealing with chronic and acute athletic injuries and calibrated machine that uses two channels to apply pain management. This might be just the edge your the current. The treatment involves specific team needs to beat chronic injuries and get frequencies of electrical current matched to the sidelined athletes back on the playing field faster particular tissue and injury presented. than ever before! B=”
From BFS Magazine — January/February 2005. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
