Microcurrent / TENS / e-stim experiences

[IPEsq]

My horse is showing some signs of needing his neck injected again. Mostly loss of ROM and some muscle tightness. He has never acted painful to ROM tests (just seems stuck or tries to cheat), and so we often just judge on behavioral/performance signs and confirm some joint effusion on ultrasound.

Because he has more ROM difficulties to the left, even though that is his dominant “hand”, he will lose forward to the left and get heavy/stiff when on the left rein, particularly in canter (if he will canter at all).

I dont really get any any response from shockwave, Adequan, NSAIDs or anything. He does get Adequan for other body parts. What helps the most is acupuncture with e-stim in various points in the neck. He really responds well. Improves ROM and rideability. But, it gets to be increasingly short-term when it’s time for steroids.

Because he just got over a ulcer flare in response to hock injections and had a major ulcer flare last year following neck injections (first time for such a reaction to steroid), I am hesitant.

The acupuncture treatment and corresponding chiro evaluation costs $85-95 and I do it approx once a month. Previous treatment only seemed to last 2 weeks. He just got done again, and chiro vet had me get a cheap milli / micro amperage e-stim unit to use with pads. It’s similar to the unit she uses with the needles, but I’m not going to try to do acupuncture myself. She showed me some settings to try.

I’ve done FES in the past (person with the unit here is $$$$), and way back in the day, I used a physiotherapy e-stim unit on horses, but we seemed to target muscle trigger point type stuff.

Anyone use use this therapy have any input, tips, or suggestions? I’m trying to see if I can extend the benefits of the acupuncture. Vet suggested using it 2-3x a week.

[Crash_Helmet]

I just bought an MC system but haven’t cracked open the instructions yet. Following this thread with interest!

[PNWjumper]

I have a unit called the Best Vet that I purchased after watching my (very very good) bodyworker use it with great success on several of my horses. I’ve had it for 7 or 8 years now and I think I use it on myself as much as my horses. You can read up on it at the link below, but if I remember the very short description my gal gave me, it works at a different wavelength than a TENS unit. I have certainly never seen the same results with any other TENS-type unit I’ve had used on me or had used on the horses.

https://therapyproducts.net/shop/microcurrent-therapy/microcurrent-for-horses/matrix-bv-iii-equine-kit/

It’s expensive, but worth every dime, IMO. I also have a much less expensive microcurrent unit. But I use it for a totally different purpose (ion topheresis) and I don’t think it would do the same thing. The Best Vet comes with a comb-like attachment that you use with it (though you can connect pads to it as well - I use the comb for the horses and the sticky pads for myself)…it’s super easy to use and has made a huge difference for my horses. Definitely lengthens the time between the acupuncture/chiro appointments my vet does and also lets me figure out where they’re tight and/or sore.

[IPEsq]

@PNWjumper , the unit I got was less than $100! A little over once you add in different lead wires (comes with ones for needles) and some pads. It offers microcurrent and milli-amperage settings. I’m not sure what is common with TENS units as far as the type of wave–my vet just said horses don’t like them very much (to be honest, neither do I!). The is the unit I got: https://www.lhasaoms.com/e-stim-ii And this is the one the vet uses with the needles: https://www.lhasaoms.com/ito-es-130 . Hers lets us hook up more at a time, but she didn’t recommend using it with pads.

My vet suggested I use low frequency (between 2-10Hz) for chronic issue treatment and higher frequency (80-100) for more pain relief.

So far, I’ve tried it on neck and SI area. He seemed to enjoy the milli-amperage more on the SI. I only tried microcurrent on the neck, but on the left side, he seemed to like the high frequency better (makes sense I guess?). The vet only uses microcurrent with the needles.

The comb thing looks interesting. It looks like the other units on the site you linked to have milli/micro-amp settings but yours is just micro?

What do you use it for on yourself? I’m thinking horse needs to share with me too.

[PNWjumper]

@IPEsq

The comb thing looks interesting. It looks like the other units on the site you linked to have milli/micro-amp settings but yours is just micro?

What do you use it for on yourself? I’m thinking horse needs to share with me too.

I can’t remember what the differences are between mine and a normal TENS unit (though my body worker has explained it in great detail about a hundred times, but clearly my ability to retain information is…not great), but it feels like a completely different thing. And the horses react differently as well.

I use mine on literally any injury or soreness that comes along - stomped on toes, broken ribs, separated shoulder, strained groin, tennis elbow, muscle soreness in general (especially my back and neck at shows when I’ve got a few green ones!)…all of the side effects of riding :lol: And in addition to using it on more acute issues on my horses, I’ve used it a lot at horseshows where the horses are exerting themselves beyond normal. Keeps my horses feeling a lot looser and more comfortable.

[IPEsq]

@PNWjumper

I can’t remember what the differences are between mine and a normal TENS unit (though my body worker has explained it in great detail about a hundred times, but clearly my ability to retain information is…not great), but it feels like a completely different thing. And the horses react differently as well.

No worries…my chiro vet has tried explaining it to me too but obviously not well enough for me to retain it (and I was good at physics).

[LookmaNohands]

I am following because one of my horses was x-rayed yesterday after he took a hard fall in the pasture. He could barely move his neck afterward. No clear signs of anything broken yet but my vet is passing them on to a radiologist for further study. My vet recently tried a Bemer and really liked it but is not purchasing it because of the price. Not sure which way to go at this point. He is getting Banamine twice a day but I am not sure how long we can do that.

[mydogs]

@IPEsq

@PNWjumper , the unit I got was less than $100! A little over once you add in different lead wires (comes with ones for needles) and some pads. It offers microcurrent and milli-amperage settings. I’m not sure what is common with TENS units as far as the type of wave–my vet just said horses don’t like them very much (to be honest, neither do I!). The is the unit I got: https://www.lhasaoms.com/e-stim-ii And this is the one the vet uses with the needles: https://www.lhasaoms.com/ito-es-130 . Hers lets us hook up more at a time, but she didn’t recommend using it with pads.

My vet suggested I use low frequency (between 2-10Hz) for chronic issue treatment and higher frequency (80-100) for more pain relief.

I’ve been looking into microcurrent for my horse for a while. Any tips for determining how to best determine which settings work best for a horse and where to place it?

[IPEsq]

I place it on acupuncture points. As for settings, my vet gave me some suggestions, but I’m still playing with it. With the pads, I can’t feel the microcurrent at all with this unit, even if I turn it up all the way. I can feel the milliamps though. Vet suggested using lower frequency for chronic issue and higher for pain. This feels like a pulse versus a buzz. Horses might be able to feel the microcurrent, but I am not sure. He definitely feels it when hooked up to the acupuncture needles, but I’m not sure it’s strong enough using pads.

I’ve found my horse likes different settings whether I’m putting it on neck, back, or SI area. Neck points are a mix of meridians, on the back, I follow the bladder meridian, and around the SI area, there’s another meridian that’s closer to the spine than bladder, but I can’t recall its name.

Seems he prefers the pulse on the neck, and on the back, higher frequency also with higher intensity. SI, I haven’t totally figured out yet. This is judged based on how asleep he is / length of lower lip.