By Matthew Solan

Forget about images of thunderbolts and Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory. No sparks fly when you’re hooked up for microcurrent therapy. In fact, the treatments use such low levels of electricity you won’t even feel them. And that begs an obvious question: Does it really work?

Also known as microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulation, or MENS, microcurrent therapy is a painless, noninvasive procedure that uses pads or pencil-like probes to stimulate injured areas with low intensity electrical current. How low? Try a millionth of an amp. To put that in perspective, it takes one amp to light a regular 40-watt bulb.

But despite being meek and mild, MENS has an impressive track record. It works like this: The extremely low-intensity electric current stimulates cellular activity, which increases the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the cell’s main energy source. In the 1980s, Belgian researcher Ngok Cheng, MD found that electrically stimulating rat skin triggered a 300 to 500 percent increase in ATP. MENS also improves protein synthesis and the cells’ ability to absorb nutrients. “This all gives the body an extra ‘jump start’ to create an ideal environment for better healing,” says microcurrent therapist Barber Berger, LAc of San Rafael, California. “It gives the body everything it needs to more effectively do its job.”

Less is Definitely More

Microcurrent therapy works in direct contrast to modern medicine. The Western medical philosophy has always been more is better—more medicine, more treatments—but microcurrent therapy embraces a Buddha-like approach of less is more. “Sometimes the smallest changes can have the most profound effect,” says Berger. “With microcurrent, you whisper to the tissue instead of yelling at it. If you bombard the tissues with intense treatments you just further stress them. Microcurrent simply gives the body a gentle nudge in the direction of healing.”

Used primarily for muscle pain management and to generate quicker healing of fractured bones, stressed muscles, and torn tendons, MENS has also had success with arthritis, post-operative recovery, and joint and nerve healing. (Therapists have used MENS to treat other conditions, such as migraines, surgical TMJ, and even Lyme disease, but there’s not enough evidence right now to claim results. It may help, but the jury is still out.)

MENS has received much press in recent years thanks to high profile athletes who rely on it to ease recurring aches and pains and bounce back quicker from twists, sprains, and other on-the-job injuries. Sports teams like the Oakland A’s and Oakland Raiders swear by it, and other big name supporters include Atlanta Braves star pitcher John Smoltz, American tennis ace Andy Roddick, and the Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady, who recently said he finally healed his ongoing back spasms with MENS. Research tends to back up these personal endorsements. A 2004 study in the Journal of Disability and Rehabilitation showed that MENS increases ankle joint range of motion, and other research found it greatly reduces delayed onset muscles soreness from physical activity and recuperation time from knee surgery.

Vision Quest

MENS has also had on-going success in treating age-related macular degeneration, a debilitating cause of vision loss. Here, a technician typically applies the electric currents to points above and below the eye socket. A Swedish study by Edward L. Paul, OD, PhD used microcurrent therapy on 94 eyes diagnosed with what are considered untreatable retinal diseases, including macular degeneration. Overall,