Question 1

Who uses this equipment?

Accepted Answer

The Acuscope and Myopulse are currently being used by professional athletic teams, sports medicine practices, hospitals, and by thousands of private doctors and therapists in every field of medicine throughout the world.
According to widespread publicity, many outstanding athletes have been significantly helped by the treatments; several who received Acuscope/Myopulse treatments for pain and injury won gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Some of the athletic teams who have used the Acuscope and Myopulse Therapy System include: San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland A's, San Francisco Giants, US Water Ski Team, Utah Jazz, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the LA Rams.
The Acuscope System has extensive applications in veterinary as well as human medicine. It is very effective with both small and large animals.  Acknowledged for its remarkable success in treating equine athletes in every field of horse competition over the past twenty years, the number of Equine Acuscope Therapists is steadily increasing.

Question 2

How do these instruments work?

Accepted Answer

The Acuscope and Myopulse establish a two-way communication between their own circuitry and the electrical signals from the area of the patient's body being treated. Using biofeedback technology, they measure such things as tissue conductivity and cell capacitance (the capacity of cells to hold an electrical charge). Generally, tissue conductance is very low in an area of chronic pain and abnormally high in areas of inflammation. In order to correct abnormalities, the treatment introduces gentle currents in waveforms similar to the body's own electrical signals. The Acuscope is programmed to generate the current pulse which damaged nerve tissue requires in order to return to a normal, pain free state. The Myopulse sends corrective signals specific to muscle and other connective, contractile tissue so that the cells can begin the work of self-repair.

Question 3

Which equine health conditions does the Electro-Acuscope and Myopulse System treat?

Accepted Answer

Solid scientific evidence shows that this therapy system is effective at wound healing, pain management and in relieving muscle, nerve, tendon, ligament and bone conditions. Some of the most common successfully treated conditions include: navicular disease, sidebone, ringbone, shin splints, bone chips and fractures, bowed tendons, suspensory ligament injuries, arthritis, edema (windpuffs), stringhalt, laminitis (founder), sweeney shoulder, bicepital bursitis, radial nerve paralysis, hock and stifle injuries, kissing spine, muscle soreness and inflammation. The system’s FDA approval also states accelerated recovery rates of 50% or more can be seen from most major injuries.

Question 4

How many treatments will my horse need?

Accepted Answer

The number of treatments required will depend on the severity and extent of the condition as well as the body's ability to heal itself. Age, general state of health, habits, and even state of mind may influence the length of time required for complete recovery. Somewhere between five and fifteen treatments is the normal average.

The body does not build up a tolerance to Acuscope treatments like it does with certain drugs or higher-amperage transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators (TENS).Both with many pain medications and most TENS devices, prolonged use requires higher and higher doses of medications or increased time and amounts of electricity to achieve the desired pain reduction effect. With Acuscope / Myopulse treatments, sessions of shorter and shorter duration produce more dramatic and longer lasting effects, until treatment is no longer required. By definition, this is called the “cumulative” effect.

Question 5

How does the Electro-Acuscope reduce pain?

Accepted Answer

Every living body is made up of a vast number of cells which store and release energy. Each cell has a measurable electrical charge and therefore there is a constant energy flow maintained between cells throughout the electrical circuitry of the body.

When damage or trauma occurs, there is a disruption in the production of electricity and a measurable decrease in the flow of energy through the tissues involved. This condition is called electrical resistance and is generally accompanied by a sensation of pain in the area.

During treatment, the Acuscope introduces mild electrical current into the cells of the body in order to return the tissue to a normal level of electrical activity. This process may be likened to a “jump start” and “putting a charge” on the battery of a car. 
While providing beneficial electrical current, the treatment causes the body to improve circulation, produce and more effectively utilize proteins and other nutrients required to cell metabolism and repair. In this way, the instrument assists the body in accelerating the natural self-healing processes. In addition, mild electrical current causes the body to generate chemicals called "endorphins", naturally occurring pain suppressors. The immediate pain relieving results, as well as the long term benefits of an Acuscope/Myopulse treatment, may therefore be considered an electro-chemical response occurring in the involved area at a cellular level.

Question 6

How are the results from Acuscope treatment cumulative?

Accepted Answer

Mild current stimulation, ideally at the level of 500uA (micro-amps) or less, has been researched (Cheng, 1982) and shown to cause the cells of the body to increase production of the chemical ATP which responsible for cellular energy production. It has also been shown to increase protein synthesis, the building blocks of tissue, which allows the cells to begin to repair themselves. This low level of current is known to improve certain cellular functions which pump ions (such as sodium, calcium, potassium, etc.) into the cells, and to increase the transport of waste products out of the cells thereby assisting in the flushing of toxins out of the tissue.As these chemical reactions build up with each treatment, the tissue is able to repair itself more completely. The "charge" on the tissue begins to hold and its ability to generate its own normal energy is restored.

Question 7

What is the difference between the Acuscope and the Myopulse?

Accepted Answer

The Acuscope works directly through the central nervous system. It uses pre-programmed computer circuitry, calibrated specifically for animals, to read the normal and abnormal current levels in the body’s nerve cells; if abnormal levels of cellular function are detected it uses its unique biofeedback system to monitor the treatment area and send in compensating (infinity variable) square waveforms until normal patterns are detected. Because of the continuous monitoring and treatment cycle of this biofeedback loop there is no chance of overstimulation and digital readouts are displayed before, during and after the treatment. Although the instrument gives direct access to the body’s nerve cells, it also has different frequency settings that allow indirect access to muscles, tendons, ligaments and boney areas and can address inflammation and wounds.
The Myopulse, companion instrument to the Acuscope, uses the same computer circuitry and biofeedback technology only it reads the electrical field generated by the cells of muscles, tendons and other connective tissues and can detect abnormal patterns within the field. Its biofeedback loop monitors the treatment area and sends in compensating (infinity variable) sloping sinusoidal waveforms until normal patterns within the field are detected. The instrument allows for manual polarity adjustments to more specifically address traumatic areas or boney issues. The Myopulse assists the body in healing itself by normalizing the electromagnetic field that surrounds all soft and connective tissues reducing spasm and inflammation and strengthening tissue that has been damaged by traumatic injury.

Question 8

How important is it to use instruments calibrated for animal use?

Accepted Answer

The instrument calibration is a very important factor due to remarkable differences which exist within the distribution of the electrical current between human and animal subjects.

In the collected measurement of bio-impedance from cross sectional areas of excitation points there can be up to 30%-90% difference (depending on the species) caused by dynamic changes in pulsatile blood flow to organs, arterial pulse waveforms and respiration. This means that if the instrument is not calibrated for animal use, the impedance window becomes too large and the constant current stage of the excitation source will not be able to supply enough voltage to keep the signal constant. This will result in lower than expected values, noisy "pulsatile" imprecise and indistinct data signals.

Question 9

How much electricity does the Acuscope or Myopulse produce?

Accepted Answer

The amount of electricity generated by the instruments is measured in microamps (millionths of an amp), an extremely tiny amount of current in comparison to the amount of electricity flowing from a wall socket or from any other common high voltage electrical device. Scientific research has shown that this low level of current produces the most beneficial effect on the body’s cells. Both instruments produce battery generated electrical signals in patterns similar to and comparable with that which is produced by the body’s own normal, healthy cells, the kind and level of energy which is constantly flowing through every living person and animal.

Question 10

How does Acuscope/Myopulse compare to PEMF devices such as MagnaWave, Pulse and BEMER?

Accepted Answer

PEMF stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Field. Like Acuscope / Myopulse, PEMF devices assist the body in healing itself by improving the circulation of blood and oxygen in the involved area and normalizing the electrical current in the nerves and muscles of damaged tissue.
The Acuscope and Myopulse are different from PEMF devices in that they have a bio-feedback system which allows the therapist to monitor the electrical charge in the tissues during treatment. This monitoring function is what sets this therapy system apart from anything else on the market. This allows the Acuscope and Myopulse to adjust its output during treatment according to the level of current in the cells in real time. Additionally, at the end of each section of the treatment, these instruments give the therapist a read-out of the electrical resonance in the tissues. The therapist can then make additional adjustments to make the treatment more effective. MagnaWave, Pulse and BEMER do not have any way to monitor the electrical current in the tissues, nor to gauge the effectiveness of the treatment at a cellular level.
Additionally, the Electro-Acuscope / Myopulse therapy system has its own FDA approval and has been FDA approved since 1983. It is approved for neuro-muscular and musculoskeletal conditions, pain management, and an accelerated recovery rate of 50% or more. FDA approval means the manufacturer has conducted needed clinical trials to evaluate the drug safety and efficacy under Good Practices. Further, the Electro-Acuscope / Myopulse therapy system was proven to be statistically and clinically significant in terms of efficacy. FDA approval means that the FDA has determined that the benefits of the product outweigh the known risks for the intended use.
Currently, MagnaWave products are not regulated under the FDA. According to the MagnaWave website, “these products are to be used as massage-like instruments. There is no medical benefit claim currently assigned to their use” (magnawavepemf.com, 2020). BEMER products are registered with the FDA, but FDA registration is different than approval. Registration means that the FDA has been notified that this product is being imported into the USA and is being used. FDA registration does not mean that this product has been determined to be beneficial for its intended use. Pulse PEMF products make no mention of FDA approval on their website.

Question 11

Is the Electro-Acuscope/Myopulse System the same as a TENS Machine?

Accepted Answer

The Acuscope differs from other electrical stimulation devices in that it delivers its’ treatments in micro-amps (one-millionth of an ampere). Most transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators (TENS) produce milli-amperage (one-thousandth of an ampere) current designed to bombard the tissue and simply block pain signals from reaching the brain. The Acuscope, in contrast, generates only the level of current required to gently encourage nerve and muscle fiber to return to conduction of normal electrical impulses. The Acuscope has a monitoring function which allows the therapy to constantly change, delivering only what is needed in the tissues at any given time. Most TENS units are fixed output, and force electrical current into the cells. Because TENS units don’t have the ability to monitor and evaluate the current present in the tissues, they risk over-treating and damaging the injured area. The Acuscope will never overtreat an area due to its monitoring capabilities and constantly changing output. Also, ordinary TENS devices provide only temporary relief, whereas a series of Acuscope treatments have a cumulative, long-term healing effect.

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