MENS
Encyclopedia
A microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulator or MENS (also microamperage electrical neuromuscular stimulator) is a device used to send weak electrical signals into the body. Such devices apply extremely small (less than 1 milliampere) electrical currents to nerves using electrodes placed on the skin. One microampere is 1 millionth of an ampere and the uses of MENS are distinct from those of "TENS."
MENS uses include treatments for age-related macular degeneration
, wound healing, tendon
repair, and ruptured ligament
recovery. Since most of the treatments concentrate on speeding healing and recovery, the largest current use is for professional athletes. It is also used as a cosmetic treatment
.
The body's electrical capabilities were studied at least as early as 1830, when the Italian Carlo Matteucci is credited as being one of the first to measure the electrical current in injured tissue. Bioelectricity received less attention after the discovery of penicillin, when the focus of medical research and treatments turned toward the body's chemical processes. Attention began to return to these properties and the possibilities of using very low current for healing in the mid 1900s. In a study published in 1969, for example, a team of researchers led by L.E. Wolcott applied micro-current to a wide variety of wounds, using negative polarity over the lesions in the initial phase, and then alternating positive and negative electrodes every three days. The stimulation ranged from 200-800uA and the treated group showed 200%-350% faster healing rates, with stronger tensile strength of scar tissue and antibacterial effects. In 1991, the Germen scientists Dr. Erwin Neher and Dr. Bert Sakmann shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their development of the patch-clamp technique that allows the detection of minute electrical currents in cell membranes. This method allowed the detection of 20 to 40 types of ion channels that allow positive or negatively charged ions into and out of the cells and confirmed that electrical activity is not limited to nerve and muscle tissue.
A study by a neuroretinologist in the late 1980s suggested that microcurrent stimulation of acupuncture points for the eye had positive effects in slowing and even stopping progression of macular degeneration. This treatment is used to treat both the Wet and Dry forms of AMD. This study was based on Ngok Cheng's research on the increased amounts of ATP levels in living tissue after being stimulated with microcurrent. Several similar studies are currently underway and other studies have shown there are benefits (with specific microcurrent polarities and frequencies) on the healing of tendon and bone.
While the mechanisms of efficacy are not well established, a few studies have shown that there may be a correlation between the traditional Chinese medical system of acupuncture and microcurrent. A study published in 1975 by Reichmanis, Marino, and Becker concluded in part that. “At most acupuncture points on most subjects, there were greater electrical conductance maxims than at control sites.”
Many companies manufacture microcurrent devices for both professional and personal use and micorcurrent is in use as a "complementary" veterinary modality.
MENS uses include treatments for age-related macular degeneration
Macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults...
, wound healing, tendon
Tendon
A tendon is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae as they are all made of collagen except that ligaments join one bone to another bone, and fasciae connect muscles to other...
repair, and ruptured ligament
Ligament
In anatomy, the term ligament is used to denote any of three types of structures. Most commonly, it refers to fibrous tissue that connects bones to other bones and is also known as articular ligament, articular larua, fibrous ligament, or true ligament.Ligament can also refer to:* Peritoneal...
recovery. Since most of the treatments concentrate on speeding healing and recovery, the largest current use is for professional athletes. It is also used as a cosmetic treatment
Electrotherapy (cosmetic)
Cosmetic electrotherapy is a range of beauty treatments that uses low electric currents passed through the skin to produce several therapeutic effects, such as muscle toning in the body, and micro-lifting of the face...
.
The body's electrical capabilities were studied at least as early as 1830, when the Italian Carlo Matteucci is credited as being one of the first to measure the electrical current in injured tissue. Bioelectricity received less attention after the discovery of penicillin, when the focus of medical research and treatments turned toward the body's chemical processes. Attention began to return to these properties and the possibilities of using very low current for healing in the mid 1900s. In a study published in 1969, for example, a team of researchers led by L.E. Wolcott applied micro-current to a wide variety of wounds, using negative polarity over the lesions in the initial phase, and then alternating positive and negative electrodes every three days. The stimulation ranged from 200-800uA and the treated group showed 200%-350% faster healing rates, with stronger tensile strength of scar tissue and antibacterial effects. In 1991, the Germen scientists Dr. Erwin Neher and Dr. Bert Sakmann shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their development of the patch-clamp technique that allows the detection of minute electrical currents in cell membranes. This method allowed the detection of 20 to 40 types of ion channels that allow positive or negatively charged ions into and out of the cells and confirmed that electrical activity is not limited to nerve and muscle tissue.
A study by a neuroretinologist in the late 1980s suggested that microcurrent stimulation of acupuncture points for the eye had positive effects in slowing and even stopping progression of macular degeneration. This treatment is used to treat both the Wet and Dry forms of AMD. This study was based on Ngok Cheng's research on the increased amounts of ATP levels in living tissue after being stimulated with microcurrent. Several similar studies are currently underway and other studies have shown there are benefits (with specific microcurrent polarities and frequencies) on the healing of tendon and bone.
While the mechanisms of efficacy are not well established, a few studies have shown that there may be a correlation between the traditional Chinese medical system of acupuncture and microcurrent. A study published in 1975 by Reichmanis, Marino, and Becker concluded in part that. “At most acupuncture points on most subjects, there were greater electrical conductance maxims than at control sites.”
Many companies manufacture microcurrent devices for both professional and personal use and micorcurrent is in use as a "complementary" veterinary modality.
See also
- TENS
- Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation
- Macular degenerationMacular degenerationAge-related macular degeneration is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults...
- AcupunctureAcupunctureAcupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....