Electro-Acuscope Therapy for Treating Horses

Deborah Powell Other Topics Electro-Acuscope, Microcurrent for Horses, TENS

The Electro-Acuscope is a brand name for one of many microcurrent instruments and has a companion instrument called the Myopulse. Later models are called Myoscope, Equiscope, and others. They were one of the first direct copies of the original microcurrent units marketed by Dr. Wing. Promoters of the Electro-Acuscope distanced themselves from this connection by not elaborating on what it was but focusing on advertising jargon to describe what the product did. The distributors successfully marketed their unit to the point that categories of alternative therapy were created, such as the one in the book, “Alternative Medicine by Deepak Chopra” (Revised Edition pg 196).

Listed as an alternative therapy, the Electro-Acuscope’s only hint of being a micro-stimulator is, “Uses a much lower electrical current than a TENS unit.” The marketers of Acuscope aimed to create the illusion of having a unique instrument, making it difficult to compare to other equipment using the microamperage range. Most content is appropriate to all microamperage units, except a few notations I have added for clarification.

It states as follows:

Electro-Acuscope reduces pain by stimulating tissue repair rather than stimulating the nerve or causing muscle contractions (1). The current is continually adjusted to match the resistance from the damaged tissue in order to facilitate the repair process (2). The skill of the practitioner is of considerable importance for it effective use. (3)

It does stimulate the nervous system, but will not stun the nerve sheath as a millampere (TENS) unit can.
The instrument senses resistance and compensates to maintain the chosen current level. The instrument does not distinguish the quality of the tissue.
The knowledge of the practitioner is beneficial; however note that just using microcurrent is the key element.

Continued Excerpts

Because of its prolonged effects on tissue repair, the Electro-Acuscope can be used to treat a wide range of clinical conditions, such as muscle spasms, migraines, TMJ, bursitis, arthritis, surgical incisions, sprains and strains, neuralgia, herpes roster infections (shingles), and bruises.

Steve Center MD has added the following uses: treating local skin infections, chronic fatigue syndrome, migraines, and carpal tunnel syndrome, but predominantly uses it for, “acute and chronic pain, mainly of musculoskeletal origin from automobile accidents, lumbosacral (lower back) sprains, shoulder strains and sports injuries.”

George Godfrey, MD (founding member of the American Trauma Society of the American College of Surgeons and Medical Director of Atlantic Industrial College of Surgeons in Atlantic City, NJ) is quoted, “The most impressive results are found in the severe muscle contraction headaches associated with injuries to the muscles of the upper chest, upper thorax, and neck.”

The same sort of implied uniqueness applies to the equine world. Articles in NE Equine Journal (97), Performance Horse (99), So. Cal Ride Mag (01), Morgan Mag (98), and many others have helped create name recognition for the Acuscope brand. In fact, until recently, the owners of this equipment did not learn that any other instruments utilizing microcurrent existed! It was always referred to as Electro-Acuscope Therapy.

Joel Rossen, DVM (small animal vet), was the first animal distributor for the Acuscope/Myopulse and helped spread the equipment to the equine industry.

After his departure, the equine distribution was well on its way. A couple of horse gals, one a barrel racer in California and the other in thoroughbred racing in LA became authorized trainers and sellers of the equipment. Later, another trainer was added and is in Oregon. The equipment they were selling was the old two-box system. One box had GSR reading capabilities, and the other box had polarity control and a slightly different waveform.

While all other units on the market with matching or better specifications were quickly dropping in price, distributors of the Acuscope/ Myopulse system maintained a cost of $7500.00 per box, which was the initial introductory price in 1978. Additionally, the equine trainers charged $1600.00 for a 5-day course to teach you how to use the equipment. This training teaches you little about the equipment you use, mainly where to put brass plates (electrodes), how to do point work with the probes, and how to use electrode rollers. At the training, the trainers shared the conditions they had succeeded with and the protocols they liked. Each trainer’s teachings vary greatly. The training material is outdated, but the Anatomy Chart Book is nice. The trainers are all horse-savvy people who have used the equipment for many years.

Eventually, an association (now defunct) called the ATA (Acuscope Therapists of America) was formed by members trained to treat animals. They told a familiar story from telephone interviews with 50 of the ATA group. Each experienced good results from hiring someone to do the treatments and was caught up in the emotion of witnessing these vast improvements and wanted their own equipment. They were told there is “no like equipment,” and without doing serious research, they could not compare to other products and knew of only the selective information provided by the distributors. With such a significant investment (up to $20,000), they were told they could quickly recoup their costs by offering treatments to paying customers. Most Acuscope owners found the equipment too bulky and too burdensome to pack around to various barns. Some said they were getting longer arms and were having more pain than their patients!

So, they would sell their equipment, and a new therapist would emerge. A lucky few had circumvented the Equine Distributors and bought a lighter-weight model called the 70C for less money; this group had a higher satisfaction rate with their purchases. A few Acuscope Therapists have successful careers working full-time with veterinarian referrals. If they had a facility for haul-ins and a large barn to keep them busy, the chances of success were much better. Most work on horses and dogs, and some have found working for a doctor’s office a great way to supplement their animal therapy income and gain experience. With many of these therapists now having 20 years of experience (with their multitudes of satisfied, loyal customers as proof), this group, by far, is the most knowledgeable and experienced in treating animals with microcurrents.

Some of us, myself included, have moved on from the Acuscope world. We knew there had to be better ways to do these wonderful treatments. The result is that we found better treatment methods (like getting rid of brass plates) and found affordable, modernized instruments. Shortening training sessions with updated materials has made learning microcurrent therapy easy. This has opened the door to many. As a result, today, anyone can treat their animals with great success. At any significant horse function (i.e., barrel racing, cutting, reining, racing, western pleasure, and jumping), it’s impossible not to find someone doing microcurrent treatments.

Other microcurrent options: Best Vet III, MicroPlus, ArcEquine, Matrix MCT Patches