Electro AP and crossing the spine

[Guest guest]

Hi All, & Sean,

 

Sean, Many thanks for your mail on crossing the spine with Electro-AP.

I take the liberty of forwarding it to the lists because I think that many

others will benefit from your experiences.

 

Best regards,

Phil

 

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Dr Sean Walsh, Ph.D. Lecturer College of TCM Dept of Health Sciences

University of Technology, Sydney wrote:

 

Hi Phil, As regards the heart, I never cross the LEFT chest region with

strong current and absolutley never with a demand type pace maker.

I've read one count of angina pain being induced by electro-AP after a

pace-maker was inserted into a patient, with the patient having never

experienced such with electro-AP before insertion of the pace-maker.

Caution also needs to be taken with too large an intensity in ear points

for which the electrodes are relatively close - so I've read.

 

The other obvious precaution is with fractures - too strong an intensity

will recruit motor neurons and hence induce muscle movement -

perhaps not the most pleasant experience for the patient. So saying

that, electro-AP can be particularly useful for fractures that fail to heal.

Additionaly, precautions need also be applied to electroAP on points

near sensitve structures. For example, joints, thorax - in which electro-

AP may cause needle depth to change and penetrate sensitive

structures if recruiting the motor fibers.

 

The region of the anterior neck should be avoided due to the baro-

receptors in the area - bad look to have your patient faint from low blood

pressure post treatment.

 

[Otherwise] Crossing the spine [with electro-AP]: no problem. I was

taught as a student never to cross the spine but have come to realise,

with much reading of the literature, that crossing the spine is okay -

there has been no reported adverse reaction to doing this.

 

Interestingly, if you place two elctrodes along one side of the spine, e.g.,

BL18, BL19 - it is likely the current will cross the spine anyway, as the

current always takes the path of least resistance rather than direct from

electrode-A to electrode-B.

 

With musculoskeletal injury or dysfunction it is often appropriate to cross

the spine. The most common electrode arrangement I use is an X. For

example, place one electrode of a set on the R upper lattissimus and

the other on the L lumber region: for the other electrode set, place one

on the L upper lattissimus and the other on the R lumbar. Take care,

Sean

 

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