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Our human bodies have a natural electrical current that allows communication between cells. If our bodies suffer injuries or disease, those electrical currents become disrupted. The cells, in turn, cannot function properly without these currents. If cells don’t function and communicate properly, the healing process is slowed down. That’s where microcurrent therapy comes in.
What is Microcurrent Therapy?
Microcurrent therapy is also known as microcurrent stimulation or electrotherapy and is a non-invasive yet highly effective pain relief, peak performance, and rehabilitation system. It uses electrical energy to strengthen muscles, repair tissue, reduce pain, promote bone growth, and much more.
Microcurrent therapy is used to restore the body’s electromagnetic field to allow cells to return back to normal function, which speeds up healing. It has been shown to reduce inflammation, pain, and muscle spasms. It can also help with range of motion.
How Does Microcurrent Therapy Work?
Every tissue in the body has its own unique electrical frequency that can be disrupted by either disease or injury. Microcurrent therapy restores normal electrical frequencies within the cells and this results in improvements in function, inflammation, and pain.
Microcurrent therapy works by sending low-level electrical currents into the target tissues. These currents are almost identical to the body’s own natural electrical frequencies. Running a current through tissue adds more electrons thus allowing for faster processing of energy as well as stimulating cellular and tissue repair [1].
Microcurrent therapy, at a cellular level, stimulates a dramatic increase in ATP, which is the energy responsible for fueling the body’s biochemical functions. It also accelerates protein synthesis, which is essential for tissue repair. The resulting enhancement in inflammation reduction and blood flow results in reductions in muscle spasms and pain, as well as increased range of motion.
What Conditions is Microcurrent Therapy Used to Treat?
Microcurrent therapy is typically used for neck and back pain [2], but it can be used for many other physical conditions, both acute and chronic. Treatment generally lasts several sessions and it is often used with other forms of therapy. Here are some of the conditions that microcurrent therapy is used to treat:
- Arthritis
- Back Pain
- Bell’s Palsy
- Burns
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Diabetic Ulcers
- Disc Injuries
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches
- Herpes
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Ligament and Tendon Pain
- Low back Pain
- Myofascial Pain
- Neck Pain
- Neuropathy
- Sciatica
- Shingles
- Sports Injuries
- Slow-Healing Wounds
- Sprains, and Many others
Microcurrent therapy, however, is not a treatment option for people with/using/suffering from any of the following:
- Pregnancy
- Breastfeeding
- Skin Irritation
- Metal Implants
- Epilepsy
- Cardiac Pacemakers
- Cancer (Current or Past)
- Blood Thinners of Any Type
Microcurrent Facials
Microcurrent therapy has been used to treat people suffering from Bell’s Palsy for several decades. Bell’s Palsy is a condition that’s characterized by the sudden paralysis of muscles that cause drooping of the muscles in one side of the face.
The toning effect of microcurrent therapy captured the attention of the cosmetic industry for its ability to lift facial muscles and tighten sagging skin thus creating a more youthful appearance [3]. Today, microcurrent therapy is one of the hottest trends in anti-aging and is used in leading medical offices and spas for firming and toning aging skin as well as for facial contouring.
Microcurrent therapy is safe, painless, and effective technology for clients looking to attain and maintain a younger, healthier appearance. Results might take some time to become evident, but they are so dramatic that it is often referred to as the non-surgical facelift.
The Benefits of Microcurrent Therapy
Microcurrent therapy is used for treating various conditions and ailments, which include wounds, sagging skin, sports, injuries, etc. It is a great tool to have and a healthy form of therapy with lasting results. Here are some of the benefits of microcurrent therapy:
- Improves the symptoms of fibromyalgia
- Heals tendons
- Reduces joint, neck, and back pain
- Lessens headaches
- Helps reverse or stop macular degeneration
- Grows new nerves
- Increases the flow of oxygenated blood to tissues
- Tones the skin and stimulated the production of collagen
Microcurrent Therapy Vs. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
People often confuse microcurrent therapy with a different kind of electrical therapy known as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). TENS uses mild electric shocks that can be felt under the skin while microcurrent therapy uses extremely weak electric currents, which means that you won’t feel a thing. TENS is used to provide short-term relief from inflammation and pain while microcurrent therapy provides long-term relief.
What is a Typical Microcurrent Therapy Treatment Session Like?
Once the frequencies have been set and the device attached to the skin, electric currents will act as a stimulator to repair the damaged tissue and provide pain relief. It is generally advisable to be properly hydrated before receiving the treatment since this helps promote electrical stimulation. The body’s cells comprise largely of water, which means that properly hydrated cells will tend to conduct the electric current better, which means that the treatment is likely to be more effective.
Where Should You Go for Microcurrent Therapy Treatments?
Microcurrent therapy hardly has any real side effects, so you don’t really need to worry much about where to get it. Even when done incorrectly, there’s only little damage. Usually, the worst that may happen is that you lose some of your money and time and definitely won’t see results.
To ensure the best results with your microcurrent therapy treatments, it is advisable to find a trusted clinic or spa to have the procedure done. You should ensure that the facility has properly trained and experienced technicians.
The facility should also offer you a consultation to get answers to all your questions. The consultation also allows the technician to identify the issue/problem that he/she is dealing with to come up with the most suitable course of action.
It would be very difficult for the technician to tell whether you would benefit from a certain procedure before seeing you and determining what could be causing your problems in case of a microcurrent facial treatment.
So, always choose a microcurrent therapy treatment facility that offers its clients consultations. At the consultation meeting, talk to the technician about what he/she recommends and enquire about any procedures that you would like to learn more about.
Professional Microcurrent Therapy Treatment Vs. At-Home Devices
If you don’t like the idea of spending hundreds of dollars on microcurrent therapy treatments, you can always consider investing in at-home devices, which are available for the price of a couple of professional treatment sessions. While such devices are available in plenty for the face, there aren’t so many options for treating the rest of the body, and even when you do find such, they usually cost more.
You should also not expect the results to come instantly if you decide to invest in your own device. You have to administer the therapy consistently for at least 60 days or longer before you start seeing any noticeable results. The reason why results aren’t noticeable within a shorter timeframe is that at-home devices tend to be weaker than those used by professionals.
Top 3 At-Home Microcurrent Therapy Devices
- NuFace Mini Petite Facial Toning Device
The NuFace Mini Petite is designed to reduce fine lines and improve your facial contours by using a microcurrent to stimulate the surface area of your skin. The Mini petite is a highly portable device that produces professional-looking results in just 5 minutes. It helps to smooth fine lines, contour facial features, and even out eye bags and saggy skin. The kit includes a facial toning device, power adapter, gel primer, and user manual.
- 4D Multifun Microcurrent Facial Massager
The 4D Microcurrent Facial Massager from Multifun helps to energize facial muscles. It provides a gentle and painless microcurrent massage that reduces the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, dark circles, and puffiness. It also makes your skin firmer, improves your skin tone, and gives you a more youthful appearance. It also promotes lymphatic drainage and stimulates blood circulation. The device is solar-powered, which means that you don’t have to worry about replacing the batteries.
- 4D Yeamon Microcurrent Facial Massager Roller
The Biotechnique Advanced provides professional-grade microcurrent therapy via high-frequency vibration. Its vibration speed, vibration mode, and microcurrent intensity are all fully adjustable. For each function, you can choose from multiple. The massager releases gentle microcurrents that energize and stimulate muscles and go into deep tissue. The device also works on 110-240 volts, with global compatability guaranteed.
Final Thoughts
Microcurrent therapy provides a host of benefits to our body and face. It helps reduce wrinkles, enhance hydration production, and firm skin among numerous other health benefits such as pain relief. Whether you use it for pain relief/health benefits or to improve the health of your skin, you can always trust microcurrent therapy to take proper care of your body.
References
1: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090123211000695#b0045
2: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19542797/
3: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/acb/v19n5/a03v19n5.pdf