Acupuncture has been considered an alternative therapy for many years in the West. Conversely, China and the rest of Asia have used acupuncture for up to 8,000 years. The West’s reluctance to acquire this effective treatment may seem strange today. In reality, the West couldn’t care less about China until the US began new trade relations in 1972. Perhaps, patients AND physicians can learn from this in the future.
It is easy to understand the importance of acupuncture in modern healthcare if you are less than 40 years old. However, it was only 1997 when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) gave their approval. Shockingly, surgeons and physicians in the US had been using it for 30 years!
Now it is quite normal to use needles to treat a wide variety of problems. Furthermore, there are new techniques with electricity and electromagnetism that extend the power of acupuncture. After viewing the studies, we are not surprised to see PEMF come out on top.
The results are clear…
Researchers tested Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation (TEAS) and PEMF for acupuncture in 2012 and 2014. Simply, TEAS applies an electrical charge to the skin at the point where the acupuncture needle is inserted. Understandably, there is potential to injure the skin worse than a needle. Also, the study found that TEAS was inadequate for deeply treating many areas of the body. Likewise, the researchers found that PEMF was more effective than any other method including manual acupuncture.
Importantly, the tests on the meridian points used about 5-10 times the Earth’s magnetic field strength. Crucially, PEMF can penetrate deeply without harming tissue. Arguably, twisting or twirling the needle wasn’t tested during these studies. However, most studies state that PEMF is a remarkable adjunct therapy. This indicates that PEMF will always provide good results when used with other methods.
PEMF is in common use for sports recovery today. Notably, that is what the studies were testing. Also, PEMF and acupuncture are commonly used to eliminate pain. Again, both methods enable holistic healing; e.g., fixing things without wrecking something else. Our conclusion is that Electromagnetic Acupuncture (EMA) will soon be a common treatment. Also, PEMF will likely be used on meridian points and as a pre or post treatment enhancement. We hope it doesn’t take another 20 years.