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In 1982 Ngok Cheng published, “The Effect of Electric Currents on ATP Generation, Protein Synthesis and Membrane Transport in Rat Skin in Clinical Orthopedics” (volume 171: pages 264-272). This study showed that microcurrent increased ATP production in rat skin by 500%. ATP is the chemical that the body uses for energy. The current also increased amino acid transport into the cell by 70% and waste product removal. The implications for human healing and repair are obvious. ATP production was increased as long as the current was below 500 microamps. When the authors increased the current to 1000 micro amps, or one milliamp, a current range delivered by TENS devices and other types of electrical stimulation therapies, the ATP production was actually reduced.

"Electrostimulation of the tissue resulted in remarkably increased ATP concentrations. With currents from 50μA to1000μA, the ATP levels were increased threefold to fivefold. With currents from 100μA to 500μA, the stimulatory effects were similar. With currents exceeding 1000μA, the ATP concentration leveled, and with 5000μA, they were even reduced slightly as compared with the non-treated controls."

Summary:

Direct electric currents ranging from 10μA to 1000μA increase ATP concentrations in the tissue and stimulate amino acid incorporation into the proteins of rat skin. The amino acid transport through the cell membrane, followed by theα-aminoisobutyric acid uptake, is stimulated between 100μA and 750μA. The stimulatory effects on ATP production and on amino acid transport, apparently mediated by different mechanisms, contribute to the final increased protein synthesizing activity, DNA metabolism followed by thymidine incorporation remains unaffected during the course of current application. The effects on ATP production can be explained by proton movements on the basis of the chemiosmotic theory of Mitchell, while the transport functions are controlled by modifications in the electrical gradients across the membranes.

  In Athletes Treated with the Myopulse (Impedance-Controlled Micro-Current Muscle Stim)

Jack Scott, Ph.D., and Robert Picker, M.D.

Preliminary Discussion

Both authors of this study were competitive track and field athletes in college (Stanford and Northwestern) approximately twenty years ago, and are still active in sports and physical fitness. Dr. Scott, for fifteen years, worked as a sport psychologist helping athletes to maximize their performance; and Dr. Picker, using a holistic, nutritional approach to medicine, has also helped athletes reach their maximum level of performance. Drs. Scott and Picker have a private practice together in Berkeley, California. The core of their practice revolves around their use of the Electro-Acuscope, a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation instrument. They have had over 90% success rate using the Electro-Acuscope for problems ranging from headaches, asthma, menstrual cramps, chronic pain, tendonitis, and a wide assortment of athletic injuries.

Despite the extraordinary success the authors have had working with the Electro-Acuscope, they greeted with skepticism claims that the inventor of the Acuscope had developed a new ìnstrument, the Myopulse, which could significantly increase strength levels in athletes. The authors had heard all too many similar claims during their twenty-five years involvement in competitive athletics. However, when a ten-minute treatment with the Myopulse significantly improved a fifteen year old injury to Dr. Scott’s left quadricep, “the injured leg felt better than the good one”, the authors agreed to use the Myopulse on several athletes they were seeing in their private practice.

Concluding Remarks

There is no doubt in the authors’ minds that the evidence is conclusively impressive. We (Drs. Scott and Picker) continue to use the Electro-Acuscope and Myopulse in combination in our practices. We continue to see consistent results in pain management and rehabilitation cases. We are convinced that a serious study in a more closely controlled clinical setting would even further support the claim that the Myopulse increases muscle strength in athletes. It is our expressed personal conviction that the Electro-Acuscope and Myopulse in combination with weight training can provide a safe, effective, noninvasive approach to rehabilitation and improvement of sports performance.