By Leslie Turney

A new device could relieve pain for people suffering conditions from arthritis to migraine.

The Action Potential Simulation (APS) machine uses low-voltage electrical currents to increse blood flow to injured or diseased areas, thereby simulating production if the body’s natural analgesics.

In clinical trials worldwide, it has been found to relieve pain, mobilise stiff joints, reduce swelling and improve blood circulation.

Because it is a drug-free and non-surgical treatment, there is no risk of the unpleasant side-effects that can go hand in hand with other options.

APS was invented by South African electronics engineer Gervin Lubbe and has been used in South African hospitals for three years. Now is has been launched in the UK, where it has received an enthusiastic response from staff at a hospital in Essex.

Bio-medical engineer John Sandham says the machine is being used mainly to help patients on orthopaedic wards. ‘One lady, admitted with osteoperosis in the back, was immobile when she came in’ he says. ‘After two weeks of drug therapy she could walk, but she was still in a lot of pain and experiencing side-effects from the drugs.’

‘We put her on APS and within four days her pain level went down from nine out of ten to less than one out of ten. It was quite staggering.’

‘APS has also been used on patients with fractured bones. A 17-year-old lad had broken his heel bone after a cycling accident and the inflammation had caused his foot to swell to the size of a rugby ball.’

‘The swelling was putting pressure in the nerves, which meant he couldn’t move his toes. During his first treatment with APS, the inflammation reduced sufficiently for him to be able to move his toes again.’

‘A lot of pain in cases like these is due to inflammation crushing the nerves. Until now, the only other option available has been anti-inflammatory drugs.’

There are already a number of electrical devices available for pain relief, but APS uses a unique wave pattern which imitates the body’s natural electrical impulses, encouraging the lymphatic glands to work efficiently to drain inflamed areas of excess fluid.

It also increases the level of the body’s natural pain killers, endorphins, and these have a secondary effect of slightly thinning the blood in the affected area. The less thick the blood, the better the circulation – which means healing enzymes have easier access to the site of pain or injury.

Each APS treatment takes around eight minutes per day. Patients report no discomfort, just a mild tingling around the affected area.

APS has been successfully used to treat osteo and rhumetoid arthritis, sinusitis, chronic back pain, sciatic pain, gout, Bell’s palsy, migraine and Seasonal Affective Disorder.

John Irvine, a 45-year-old businessman from Bracknell, Berkshire, says the machine relieved him of the chronic back pain he had been suffering for nine years.

Mr Irvine has two crushed discs in his lower back and has spent thousands on every pain treatment available in a bid to relieve his the agony.

‘I’m a keen sportsman and I’ve run five marathons, but constant spasms meant I couldn’t even stand up straight.’ he says. ‘For eight months I had traction morning. ‘I’ve tried everything from physiotherapy to acupuncture – but nothing worked in the long term.

‘My masseur told me about APS. The first time I tried it I couldn’t even walk because of the pain, but after just one treatment I walked out upright, After two further treatments I was running around as I used to.’

Mr Irvine bought a machine.

‘My mother is 66 and couldn’t get in or out of the car or do up her own shoelaces.’ he says. ‘She has had five sessions of APS and it has helped her mobility no end.’

‘It relaxes all the muscles and doesn’t mask the pain, which is when you can do yourself more damage. I swear by it.’

APS therapy is suitable for people of all ages but should not be used by individuals with pacemakers, those with epilepsy or thrombosis or pregnant women. It is hoped it will become widely available in NHS hospitals, and there is already an established network of private therapists using it.

John Sandham says ‘I was impressed by the speed with which it helps people on the orthopaedic wards to heal.’

‘With some patients, inflammation is so severe that operating is impossible. If it can accelerate the healing process, APS could have immense implications for all hospitals under pressure.’

From:

Daily Mail

Tuesday, April 7th, 1998