What is Stimpod training & Vagal nerve stimulation?
Written by Dr Annemie Peché
Pulsed Radio Frequency Pain Treatment & Vagal Nerve Stimulation
Stimpod or Pulsed Radio Frequency (PRF) pain treatment has proven to be successful in treating various pain conditions. It utilizes oscillating pulses in the radiofrequency spectrum, which is a safe and non-invasive method. The therapy is fast acting and has long-lasting effects, with significant pain relief being reported after just a few sessions.
Significant improvements have been evident and reported within 3-5 sessions for the following conditions:
⚪ Pain due to inflammation
⚪ Pain due to Chronic Illness
⚪ Trigeminal Neuralgia & Bell’s Palsy
⚪ Neuropathy as a result of Arthritis
⚪ Painful extremities
⚪ Sciatica
⚪ Vertigo
⚪ Drop foot
⚪ Gout
⚪ Shingles
⚪ Multiple Sclerosis related symptoms
⚪ Enhancement of movement
⚪ Incontinence
⚪ Various symptoms of long Covid
⚪ Balance
⚪ Emotional over-arousal and dis-regulation
Pulsed Radio Frequency (PRF) explained
PRF enhances the stability or homeostasis of the intestines via the Vagal nerve (also known as the Vagus nerve) which is the longest cranial nerve that innervates the intestines.
How is health maintained?
An individual’s health is maintained when physiological processes are in equilibrium or homeostasis.
The 2 key components that play a role to secure homeostasis are the nervous system and the endocrine system. Imbalance within these systems results in neurological and neuro-immune diseases.
Algiamed is a medical technology company and a leading purveyor of electromagnetic therapies set on innovating the medical field through the application of electromagnetic therapies which target the biological route recourse of diseased states. Algiamed believes that the body’s defense control system act in a way to maintain homeostasis. They have utilized Pulsed Radiofrequency treatment to focus on the areas that were exposed to pathogenic assault and regulate the homeostatic control system leveraging the body’s natural ability to restore the physiological equilibrium.
The Parasympathetic nervous system in Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment
The autonomic nervous system is comprised of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
⚪ Parasympathetic nervous system:
The parasympathetic nervous system must be activated to secure the secretion of endorphins to help numb the pain, raise the pain threshold, lower the heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tone, and decrease the defensive response.
⚪ Sympathetic nervous system:
When our reptilian brain and amygdala respond to danger, the 1st reaction is to defend and protect the body from the threat. The heart rate increases, we experience panic, fear, anxiety, and worry, and we are mobilized to fight or flee as a self-protective strategy which results in a decrease in the immune response.
Pain is often caused by ongoing stress which may result in oxidative stress when the balance between pro-oxidants and anti-oxidants becomes disturbed and results in an overabundance of free radicals, which affects the body’s capacity to detoxify and results in an inflammatory reaction and neuronal damage. The brain gets fatigued and is unable to produce activity in the higher bands which will impact cognitive functioning. This can also be observed on the quantitative EEG.
The efferent branches of the vagal nerve inhibit inflammation via the hyper-cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway to decrease information to the body that generally causes pain.
How does Pulsed Radio Frequency (PRF) Treatment stabilise the body?
The pulse is induced and travels from the active electrode that is positioned in the area of the pain, through the skin, and along the axons to the spinal dorsal horn which is an intermediary processing center for sensory information and comprises excitatory and inhibitory neurons that transmit the processed somatosensory information from the spinal cord to the brain. Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment focuses on the restoration of communication pathways and conveys sensory information to several brain areas and target the pathology and restores natural neuronal functionality and eliminates side effects that are associated with conventional treatment. The efferent branches of the vagal nerve inhibit inflammation via the hyper-cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway to decrease information to the body that generally causes pain.
syndromes that can be treated by the Pulse Radiofrequency method
⚪ Trigeminal Neuralgia:
A painful sensation on one side of the face
⚪ Bell’s Palsy:
Temporary facial paralysis or weakness on one side of the face due to facial nerve (Cranial Nerve VII) dysfunction controlling one side of the face and eye and facial expressions
⚪ Chronic headache:
Pressure- or sharp pain, including features of chronic migraine
⚪ Traumatic Brain Injury:
Improvement of peripheral (motor & sensory) and cortical functions and enhancement of neuroplasticity of the brain
⚪ Neuropathy including diabetic neuropathy:
Nerve damage caused by diabetes: 4 types of diabetic neuropathy:
1. Peripheral neuropathy: numbness, tingling, burning, sharp sensation, or cramps in extremities affecting balance and coordination and infections in joints.
2. Autonomic neuropathy: The autonomic nervous system controls the heart, bladder, stomach, intestines, sexual functioning, urinary tract infections, urinary retention, incontinence constipation, and uncontrolled diarrhea. Nausea, vomiting, bloating, and loss of appetite due to slow stomach emptying. Difficulty swallowing increased or decreased sweating due to problems controlling body temperature.
3. Radiculoplexus neuropathy (atrophy of thigh muscles) impacts nerves in the thighs, hips, buttocks, and legs.
4. Mono-neuropathy: focal neuropathy damages a particular nerve in the face, the middle of the body, or the leg generally in older adults. Mono-neuropathy may also develop Bell’s palsy.
⚪ Arthritis & Rheumatoid Arthritis (Inflammation):
A deficit in the immune system - the body attacks its own tissues in the joints.
⚪ Gout:
A sudden attack of severe pain in one or more joints, typically the big toe and may be a complex form of arthritis, due to excess uric acid when crystals form in the big toe and other joints.
⚪ Pain Management:
Management of neuropathic pain, acute post-surgical pain.
⚪ Elbow pain/tennis elbow:
Pain in the upper forearm and increased activity cause the pain can radiate to the wrist upper arm, and shoulder.
⚪ Vertigo:
A sensation of loss of balance, caused by disease affecting the inner ear or the vestibular nerve
⚪ Sciatica:
Related to neuropathy: lower back pain, pain in the rear of the leg, hip pain, weakness of the leg, poor mobility of the leg, shooting pain in the back, pain in toes, sciatica may change bladder and bowel movement and result in bathroom urgency
⚪ Drop foot:
The most common cause of foot drop is peroneal nerve injury, which is a branch of the sciatic nerve, supplying movement and sensation to the lower leg, foot, and toes. Conditions that affect the nerves and muscles in the body can lead to foot drop.
⚪ Stroke:
Blockage of blood supply is blocked in part of the brain or by bursts of a blood vessel resulting in brain damage – treatment is focussed on affected extremities
⚪ Fibromyalgia:
Widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood issues.
⚪ Shingles:
Pain or a tingling sensation in a limited area on one side of the face or torso, followed by a red rash with small, fluid-filled blisters.
⚪ Multiple sclerosis:
The body's immune system attacks the protective covering or myelin sheath of the nerve cells in the brain.
⚪ Incontinence, enuresis, encopresis:
Difficulty to control bowel/bladder
⚪ Ankylosing Spondylitis:
Pain and stiffness in the lower back and hips, after periods of inactivity. Neck pain and fatigue are common.
⚪ PTSD:
Including complex PTSD due to trauma
⚪ Depression:
Major depression, bipolar, mild depression - Vagal nerve stimulation
⚪ Emotional: under- and overarousal, dysregulation, and lack of calm focus associated with ADD/ADHD:
All are associated with vagal nerve instability
⚪ Long covid – various symptoms:
Including mental, emotional, and cognitive deficit functioning. Difficulty with balance, pins & needles in the feet, joint pain
Contra-indications: Conditions where PRF cannot be implemented
⚪ Heart conditions or diseases: only left-side Vagus nerve stimulation is performed for heart conditions.
⚪ PRF is not performed on a lesion or open wound. PRF can be continued after the healing of wounds
⚪ Pacemakers and nerve stimulators. PRF should not be used simultaneously with other electrical therapies to prevent spiking
⚪ Pregnancy
Caution in the following instances – Medical doctor’s permission requested
⚪ Epilepsy: only left-side treatment - vagal nerve stimulation
⚪ Heart Disease: Perform left vagus stimulation only
⚪ Hypertension: High blood pressure treated with medication
Conditions where a waiting period is needed prior to treatment with PRF
⚪ Open lesions (avoid the area)
⚪ Prosthesis/silicone implants (avoid the area)
⚪ Metal implants/screws (avoid the area)