Frequency-Specific Microcurrent

What is frequency-specific microcurrent (FSM)?

Frequency-specific microcurrent (FSM) is a technique for treating musculoskeletal pain with a low-level electrical current. A healthcare provider uses an electrical device to deliver this microcurrent to your tissues. The frequency of the current is the rate at which electrical waves come through the device (measured in hertz). Healthcare providers use specific frequencies to stimulate different body tissues.

Frequency-specific microcurrent therapy is a type of complementary medicine. It’s not a primary treatment for any condition. But it may offer additional relief after primary treatment, especially for conditions that are difficult to treat or resist healing. Research into the benefits of FSM is still in progress. But the FDA has approved it as safe to use. It’s noninvasive, painless and it might just help.

What does frequency-specific microcurrent do?

Electrical stimulation can relieve muscle pain and nerve pain in different ways. For example, it can warm and loosen your muscles, which can help relieve muscle stiffness and related pain. FSM may also work on nerve pain by altering your pain signals, similar to how transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) works. But advocates for frequency-specific microcurrent therapy believe it does more than that.

The theory of FSM is that by applying a specific frequency to your body tissues, the current can stimulate or reboot healing in those tissues. It’s similar to how microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulation (MENS) has been used to restore damaged muscle. When healing reboots, inflammation reduces and scar tissue can start to break down. This can help relieve chronic injuries and chronic pain.

What conditions does frequency-specific microcurrent treat?

FSM most often treats musculoskeletal conditions in physical therapy settings. It can help with pain management and recovery from acute and chronic injuries and pain conditions. Some of these include:

• Arthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Myofascial pain syndrome
• Myopathy
• Sports injuries
• Tendinopathy

But FSM may also help with pain, inflammation and scarring related to other conditions, like:

• Burns
• Chronic migraines
• Concussions
• Kidney stones
• Shingles
• Visceral pain and visceral hypersensitivity syndromes

What happens during frequency-specific microcurrent treatment?

During FSM treatment, your healthcare provider will use a battery-powered device to deliver microcurrent to specific parts of your body. They’ll apply a moistened towel or gel patch to your skin before applying the device. They’ll set the frequency of the current to treat your specific condition. FSM frequencies are extremely low — one-millionth of an ampere. It’s likely you won’t even feel the current.

Your provider might ask you to drink lots of water to make sure you’re hydrated before your treatment. This can help prevent or reduce potential side effects, like feeling lightheaded or queasy afterward.

What are the risks or side effects of frequency-specific microcurrent treatment?

There are no known risks to frequency-specific microcurrent treatment. But out of an abundance of caution, your healthcare provider might not recommend it for you in certain situations, like if you:

• Have a pacemaker
• Have an implanted pump (like an insulin pump or baclofen pump)
• Have seizures
• Are pregnant

Side effects of the treatment are uncommon, brief and mild. They may include:

• Drowsiness
• Lightheadedness
• Nausea

These are similar symptoms to what some people feel after massage therapy. They happen when physical stimulation causes your soft tissues to release waste products into your bloodstream.

When will I notice the effects of the treatment, and how long do they last?

Most people can feel the effects of the treatment right away. You and your healthcare provider may also observe other signs of recovery soon after. For example, swelling might go down, muscle spasms might reduce and scars might start to heal. How long these effects last may depend on your condition. It might be a few days or much longer. You might need several treatments before you experience the benefits.