ETPS (Acutherapy)

How does ETPS Work on Pain?

The ETPS electrically locates and stimulates a specific series of treatment points (acupuncture, trigger and motor) which, historically, have been proven to help relieve chronic pain syndromes. After the ETPS unit has located each treatment point and you push the treatment button, what exactly does the unit do to your body to relieve pain?

First, in acupuncture and trigger point therapy, the insertion of needles has been scientifically proven to stimulate the release of powerful internal opiates called endorphins. These natural pain relievers are secreted from the pituitary and are circulated throughout your body via your blood stream. Not only are endorphins the most powerful pain relievers known to mankind, they enhance the immune system, reduce stress and produce a feeling of euphoria (endorphins are your feel-good hormones).

Science has long known that a special form of low frequency DC electrical stimulation applied to these same points can reproduce the endorphin response just as in traditional needling. The ETPS is the ONLY hand held device on the market that duplicates these parameters. So the first reason why ETPS works so well for pain relief is that it taps into our body's own internal pain relieving system, the endorphin response.

Secondly, the ETPS releases or relaxes contracted and spastic muscles. One approach to pain management, called the neuropathic pain model, suggests that tightened/contracted muscles cause mechanical/structural asymmetry and nerve entrapments throughout the body. This asymmetry not only strains the body's movement and mechanics, but the resulting nerve entrapments place the pathways in a hypersensitive state, causing an amplification of pain response for the suffering person. The theory suggests this amplification of neural sensation, called "dennervation supersensitivity" accompanied with the subsequent muscle contraction(s), may now be the primary physiological basis of many chronic pain syndromes.

Applying the ETPS to tightened and contracted muscles, or to treatment points which relate to them, "releases" the muscles and permits increased reinnervation of their neural pathways. This process allows the suffering person's pain levels to be substantially decreased.

In other words, by relaxing the muscles there is less pressure on the nerves which calms the nerve pathways, permitting greater range of motion and increased functionality. Also, by keeping the muscles soft and supple you guard yourself against further injury while at the same time maintaining optimal health of muscle tissue.

Finally, the ETPS unit itself has the ability to either increase or decrease the amount of circulation in the area of injury. To decrease the circulation would be similar to ice therapy and is most beneficial for pain control and reduction of swelling. To increase would be similar to heat therapy and is most beneficial for immune enhancement and neural regeneration. Helping to decrease or increase the blood flow to the area greatly contributes to the natural healing process.

Chronic back pain conditions, tension or migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome and many other painful conditions respond wonderfully with this approach to pain management.