TMD Relief through Microcurrent Therapy

TMJ disorders include a variety of conditions that cause tenderness and pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The Temporomandibular joint, located directly in front of the ear, consists of two bones--the skull bone and the jawbone. Positioned between these two bones is a shock absorber-like disc known as the intra-articular disc. This disc provides smooth, quiet, harmonious movement during the opening and closing of the mouth, and it also acts as a cushion against heavy forces generated by strong jaw muscles. As the mouth opens and closes, the disc moves and glides along, forward and backward in synchrony, always holding its position between each bony structure. Problems arise, though, when the relationship among the teeth, muscles, and joints changes. Such conditions lead to TMJ dysfunction.

Between 5 percent and 15 percent of people in the United States experience pain associated with TMJ disorders, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health. Fifteen percent of TMJ disorders are genetic and 85 percent are acquired, according to recent statistics. Women are more likely than men to develop TMJ disorders. Many patients in our society suffer from TMJ disorders without even knowing it. Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) dysfunction refers to the pain that develops around the jaw and its associated muscles. The TMJ disorder can make speaking, chewing, swallowing, and facial expressions strained and uncomfortable. In fact, chronic pain, which among other things can be caused by TMJ, is the third largest health problem in the United States. Approximately 40 percent of all chronic pain syndromes are concentrated in the head and neck areas. Jaw pain, muscle tension, and the clicking, popping, or grating of the jaw are all signs of TMJ. Common symptoms of TMJ include:

* Dull, aching pain around the ear, face, temples, neck, back of head, back of eyes, and shoulders
* Migraine-like headaches
* Ringing in the ears, hearing loss, ear stuffiness/congestion, or ear pain
* Jaw clicking or popping
* Grating noises when opening or closing the mouth
* Difficulty opening and closing the mouth
* Difficult or painful chewing
* Locking of the jaw, whether open or closed
* Dizziness or nausea
* Numbing of or tingling in the fingers
* Insomnia
* Depression

Anthony Marino, DDS., conducted a study, published this year in the Harvard Society for the Advancement of Orthodontics, demonstrating the effectiveness of Microcurrent Therapy in reducing the pain and other symptoms associated with TMD. Impedance Controlled Computerized Microcurrent (ICCM) therapy applied with the Electro-Acuscope, according to the study, “was able to reduce pain levels in 95% of the patients. Greater range of head and neck motion, absence or a reduced frequency of headaches, and improved bite function were also noted. No adverse effects were observed.”.

This study demonstrates that people suffering with a variety of symptoms normally associated with TMD can find immediate relief of pain through Microcurrent Therapy applied with the Electro-Acuscope and Thorp Protocols, and potentially reduce the mechanisms that could manifest subsequent TMD symptoms.

To download the published study (3.1 MB), click here.

Is Your Clean House Making You Sick?

One of the Microcurrent Therapy protocols developed by the Thorp Institute is called Detoxification, and is comprised of seven specific treatments designed to enable your body to expel toxins which accumulate in many cells. The importance of this protocol is derived from the belief that the accumulation of toxins in the body manifests itself in various illnesses, ranging from minor irritants such as allergies to more severe conditions such as asthma and fibromyalgia.

If you think you are not exposed to potentially hazardous toxins everyday of your life, think again!

Most people, when hearing the phrase environmental toxins, might immediately think of lead, mercury or asbestos, as these have received much exposure in the media over the last few decades. Also, toxins present in pesticides, and their significant health risks, have been widely publicized. In most cases you can control your exposure to these very gross toxins, and you might think that if you have then your toxicity levels would be low. However, that could prove to be a very unhealthy assumption.

There is a huge body of evidence that indicates the environment in your home is much more toxic than the outside environment due to chemicals present in everyday household cleaners. While we have always suspected the use of strong cleaning products couldn't be good for you (how could they be when we read the warning labels and found we couldn't tolerate exposure to them for more than a few minutes at a time?), we never thought that many of the chemicals found in the really effective products could cause long-term health problems.

A few months ago we had the opportunity, through the chiropractor with whom we work, to hear about a line of household products which are composed of many more natural ingredients. We heard information about the household toxicity created by many standard household products, the potential affects this toxicity could have and the resultant benefits of switching to this product line. Since my wife has severe allergies, we decided to give the new products a try. This was one of the best decisions we ever made (but that is another story)!

Hearing about the toxicity of household products, however, did prompt us to investigate the issue. We spent days researching the data that exists on the topic; the information and its implications are frightening. Two articles of the dozens we read, are listed here with some of their more frightening passages:

1, The Dirt on Cleaners: Could your spotless home be making you sick?
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06148/693190-51.stm
The article sites that a 2003 study of air and dust samples taken from 120 Massachusetts homes found potentially harmful levels of cancer-causing and human reproduction-disrupting chemicals. These came from window cleaners, laundry detergents, cleaners, spot removers, hair dyes, nail polishes, plastics, electronics and flame retardant carpeting and furniture.

The article also defines what the three precautionary statements of Caution, Warning and Danger on product labels mean:
Caution: More than one ounce must be ingested before life-threatening symptoms will occur.
Warning: One teaspoon to 1 ounce can be life-threatening if ingested.
Danger: A few drops to one teaspoon can be life-threatening if ingested.
Many labels don't list all ingredients but use such terms as "inert ingredients." Hollender's book states that "the EPA allows more than 1,400 chemicals to be classified as inert, and 40 are known carcinogens and/or neurotoxins."

#2. Top 10 Hazardous Household Chemicals
http://consumerlawpage.com/article/household-chemicals.shtml
The article lists some disturbing facts about the ingredients in some household cleaners, including:
AIR FRESHENERS: Most air fresheners interfere with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an oil film, or by releasing a nerve deadening agent. Known toxic chemicals found in an air freshener: Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Phenol: When phenol touches your skin it can cause it to swell, burn, peel, and break out in hives. Can cause cold sweats, convulsions, circulatory collapse, coma and even death.
DISHWASHER DETERGENTS: Most products contain chlorine in a dry form that is highly concentrated.# 1 cause of child poisonings, according to poison control centers.

It is apparent from the volume of research that many household products contain chemicals, or in the presence of other chemicals or under certain conditions can create chemicals, which are toxic to the body. It is also clear that the long-term effects of exposure to these chemicals can result in health issues. The issue is vital enough to your health that we will be continuing it in subsequent Blog articles.

Jim Norvelle

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The Three-Treatment Guideline

The Thorp Institute, through which we received our Microcurrent Therapy training, always stressed the importance of getting clients to commit to three consecutive treatments. In fact, the technicians were encouraged to seriously consider not providing treatments if clients were not willing to commit to three consecutive therapy days. The reason for this guideline, according to the Thorp Institute, was that the benefits of the microcurrent therapy are cumulative, and three treatments has been shown to be the minimum exposure which produces beneficial and lasting results. After one or two treatments, pain relief may not occur, at least fully, and if the client refuses to return for the second or third treatment, they will generate the perception that the therapy is ineffective when a major pain-relief breakthrough could occur in the next session.

After completing training we thought the guideline driving a commitment for three consecutive treatments could possibly be a little bit of "overkill". After all, with many types of pain, microcurrent therapy produces immediate benefits that would encourage the clients to return. However, after practicing the therapy for seven months, two client experiences have made a believer out of us about the guideline.

The first client experience involved treating a severe case of tendonitis. With each treatment the pain was significantly reduced, up to 90% according to the client. With that level of relief, the client was not highly motivated to undergo two more consecutive treatment days. The wrist felt better than it had for a long time, so "I'm doing great", right? Well, partly. Even though significant pain relief had occurred, the benefits were not long-lived because the issue causing the pain had not been fully addressed, which would have happened if at least three consecutive treatments had been performed. So the client found that the pain returned a few weeks later, at which point another treatment was requested. This particular client believes fully in the benefit of the therapy, but they are not getting the full value for their dollar. Driving the "three consecutive treatments guideline" would have provided her a much more cost-effective solution.

The second client experience was more serious. We treated a case of severe sciatica for a client that had tried many other types of therapy with no benefits. After the first microcurrent therapy session, the client found no improvement in the sciatica pain, except for a significant lessening of pain in the upper hip musculature after the application of the "Y"-probe message protocol. The next morning the client called to say the sciatica pain was worse during the night and morning, and maybe the microcurrent therapy aggravated the pain, didn't work, and therefore the client didn't want another treatment. Well, the "change" in pain level is an indicator that something was changing in their body after the therapy. We strongly suspect, due to our positive experience with sciatica, that additional treatments would have continued the "changes" and quickly resulted in abatement of the pain symptoms. In this case, perhaps we should have been clearer that pain becoming worse before it becomes better is a potential that should not adversely affect the client's commitment to additional treatments. We think we learned something here.

At any rate, we are not too old a dog to "learn new tricks". We have come to understand the reason the Thorp Institute pushes the "three consecutive treatment" guideline. While it is designed to prevent a perception of microcurrent therapy being ineffective, more importantly it significantly increases the opportunity for a client to experience pain relief.

Grace's winter woolies

This is Grace ..... U.K. Shetland perfection even down to the wooly winter coat and feathers!

A Recap of Our First Microcurrent Event

Submitted to the National PPL chat list:

Hi Everyone,
This past weekend we were honored and pleased to spend some time with PPL's new corporate sponsors, John and Lisa Thorp from the Thorp Institute. http://www.thorpinstitute.com. The Thorps were in San Jose for our media event at the Qi center as quest speakers. John is THE leading pioneer and authority in the field of Microcurrent Therapy. A group of us met for brunch on Saturday to make the final preparations for the event which was to occur Saturday afternoon/ evening. We met again for the event itself which was open to health care professionals, the press and invited guests. The focus of the event was to educate about the benefits of Microcurrent therapy. We had a great turnout and learned a lot! In addition to all the great information about holistic alternatives, we had a PPL slide show, provided by PPL's Joy Siebenborn, that was a huge hit! The main event was followed by another group get together for dinner. A whirlwind day!

Sunday we learned even more when the Thorps made a visit to our ranch to meet the ponies! It was nice to get out of the corporate duds and into some barn/rain gear. Even though we were having some unusually bad (for California) weather, they didn't blink an eye, and trooped straight through the mud to the barn. The Thorps have extensive background with equine of all sizes and shapes but this was their very first meeting of a true U.K. Shetland! They noted the differences in conformation and personality immediately. They know their horses! (photo 1)

Grace led the pack of pony greeters as usual. She LOVES meeting new people. Parsley, Grace's cat, would not leave John alone and attached herself to him right away, which is unusual because Parsley is NOT known for being very friendly to humans! (photo 2)

Lisa taught us a lot about holistic cleansing and gave us some great information from her studies. I plan to be a copycat and get started on the one she is currently undergoing asap. John was very informative on methods and techniques that we can use for our horses and ponies. From relaxation methods with tapping points on meridians prior to a microcurrent treatment, to which equipment works best for equine for microcurrent healing, and the proper points to address for various symptoms. We could have talked all day! It was fascinating and we can't wait to apply all that they taught us. (photo 3) While our PPL ponies are very strong and healthy, there is an occasional symptom that needs addressing and it's great to know that we have a healing alternative that is NON drug for them as well! The Thorps plan to return to do another event directly educating Vet's and the animal kingdom. Educate Educate Educate! I can't wait!

Welcome to our Empirical Enterprise Blog!

The first event for the San Jose Thorp Microcurrent Team will be held on Feb. 25, 2006. We will be welcoming John and Lisa Thorp, as our honored guests. If you are interested in attending this event please contact me, via email, as space is limited and preference given to health care professionals. Thank you.

Emp

Doctor Robert Rostau cordially invites colleagues and their associates to a
Microcurrent Open House with Microcurrent Therapy Pioneer John Thorp.

When: February 25, 2006
Time: 3 P.M. - 7 P.M.
Where: Qi Center, 2409 Park Blvd., Palo Alto, CA. 94306

I have personally experienced such profound benefits from Microcurrent Therapy that I am happy to be hosting an Open House to increase awareness about these treatments. The San Jose Microcurrent Thorp Team will provide an opportunity to learn about Microcurrent Therapy and the Thorp Protocols while offering hands-on demonstrations of the treatments.

I became convinced of the effectiveness of Microcurrent Therapy applied specifically with the Electro Acuscope, Electro Myopulse and Thorp Protocols when I was treated for a painful herniated disk. After my first treatment I noticed a significant decrease in pain and increase in range of motion. By the end of the third treatment I had no pain and had achieved full range of motion! My positive experience prompts me to share information about this technology and the Thorp protocols with healthcare professionals who may wish to make Microcurrent Therapy available to their patients.

Please be my guest at our Microcurrent Open House. We have arranged for everyone to be able to meet, in person, Mr. John Thorp, President of Thorp Institute and pioneer in the field of Microcurrent Therapy. Mr. Thorp will be available to answer any questions you have and the San Jose Microcurrent Thorp Team will be available to demonstrate this amazing technology.

In Health,
Robert Rostau, D.C.
Chiropractor/Founder: Qi Center, Palo Alto, CA.
http://www.qi-center.net/