IMS: Intramuscular Stimulation

Supersensitivity and muscle shortening cannot be operated on and ‘cut away,’

while  ‘painkillers’ and other analgesic pills only mask the pain (often poorly) and promote toxicity, compounding the problem.  Neuropathy only responds to a physical input of energy.        

Intrasmuscular Stimulation (IMS) is a total system for the diagnosis and treatment of myofascial pain syndromes (chronic pain conditions that occur in the musculoskeletal system when there is no obvious sign of injury or inflammation). 

 IMS is grounded in Western Medical Science, and has a solid foundation in its radiculopathic model of pain, which is now supported by many experts in the field. 

It was developed by Dr. Gunn while he was a physician at the Worker's Compensation Board of British Columbia in the 70's, where he investigated the large number of mysteriously stubborn cases after frustration with the ineffective modalities at his disposal.

The treatment, which utilizes acupuncture needles because they are the thinnest implements available that are designed to penetrate deep within muscle tissue, specifically targets injured muscles that have contracted and become shortened from distress. 

IMS relies heavily on a thorough physical examination of the patient by a competent practitioner, trained to recognize the physical signs of neuropathic pain.  This physical examination is indispensable since chronic pain is often neurological as opposed to structural, and therefore, invisible to expensive X-rays, MRI Tests, Bone and CT Scans. Failure to recognize these signs will result in an inaccurate diagnosis, and thus, a poor starting point for physical therapy.

The treatment involves dry needling of affected areas of the body without injecting any substance. 

The needle sites can be at the epicenter of taut, tender muscle bands, or they can be near the spine where the nerve root may have become irritated and supersensitive. 

Penetration of a normal muscle is painless; however, a shortened, supersensitive muscle will ‘grasp’ the needle in what can be described as a cramping sensation. 

The result is threefold. 

 One, a stretch receptor in the muscle is stimulated, producing a reflex relaxation (lengthening). 

 Two, the needle also causes a small injury that draws blood to the area, initiating the natural healing process.   Three, the treatment creates an electrical potential in the muscle to make the nerve function normally again. 

 

The needle used in IMS, by stimulating muscle spindles, essentially becomes a specific and unique tool for the diagnosis of Neuropathic Muscle Pain. 

 

The goal of treatment is to release muscle shortening, which presses on and irritates the nerve.  Supersensitive areas can be desensitized, and the persistent pull of shortened muscles can be released. 

IMS is very effective for releasing shortened muscles under contracture, thereby causing mechanical pain from muscle pull. 

IMS, in effect, treats the underlying neuropathic condition that causes the pain.  When competently performed, IMS has a remarkable success rate, as proven by the amelioration of symptoms and signs, even for chronic back pain with root signs.    

IMS is comparable in some ways to acupuncture; however, there are a number of important differences. IMS requires a medical examination and diagnosis by a practitioner knowledgable in anatomy, needles insertions are indicated by physical signs and not according to predefined, non-scientific meridians, while subjective and objective effects are usually experienced immediately.

  

http://www.istop.org/ims.html

 

 

 

Intramuscular stimulation (IMS) is a new way of treating certain conditions that cause chronic pain. It has been proven effective in treating some kinds of chronic neck, shoulder, and low back pain and other conditions caused when an oversensitive nerve keeps a muscle contracted for too long. The muscle becomes shortened, causing distortion and further pain in other muscles and tissues.

Because this kind of "neuropathic" pain is not caused by any obvious injury, it can be difficult to treat with current therapies. IMS directly treats the cause of the pain by relaxing the shortened muscle and allowing it to return to its normal state. A trained therapist inserts very fine needles (like those used in acupuncture) into the shortened muscle at the points where it is tight. The needles change the electrical potential of the muscle, and cause micro-injuries that stimulate blood circulation and healing.

The needles cause almost no pain when inserted into normal muscle. They cause painful cramping when they are inserted into a shortened muscle; but after the muscle cramps, it relaxes. With weekly treatments over several weeks, the initial pain is followed by long-term relief for many patients. (For low back pain, studies have found the average number of treatments required is about eight.)

IMS was developed by Dr. Chan Gunn while he was a clinician with the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia. Dr. Gunn is currently a clinical professor at the University of Washington and teaches IMS at the world-renowned Washington Multidisciplinary Pain Center. He also practises in Vancouver, where he has founded the Physical Medicine Research Foundation and the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Pain.

IMS uses some of the tools of acupuncture, but it differs fundamentally in that it is based on current western research in physiology, rather than Chinese medicine. IMS is applied directly to the site of the pain, rather than to remote points based on maps of energy flow.

At the Misericordia, IMS is practised only by therapists trained and certified by Dr. Gunn, using single-use, disposable needles. The treatment is not provided through the Community Rehabilitation Program. Patients pay directly, ad may be reimbursed by their insurers.

 

http://www.caritas.ab.ca/Home/default.htm