CES Cranial Electro Stimulation Can be used to treat pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia and related disorders. Cranial Electro Stimulation, a Profound Alternative Therapy C.E.S.– SAFE EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO DRUGS IN THE TREATMENT OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND INSOMNIA Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) is an FDA approved treatment
for anxiety, depression and insomnia. Over 100 human and eighteen animal
studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of CES in treating these
and other disorders. CES involves the introduction of a very weak electrical
current into the brain. Before you say, "No way! Not my brain!" understand
CES is not "Shock therapy". The electrical current used in
CES is typically less than one milliampere. To put this in perspective,
the current needed to power a light bulb is about 11,000 times stronger.
No serious side effects have been reported with CES.
How CES works still needs further clarification. It appears that CES influences areas of the brain called the thalamus, hypothalamus and the reticular activating system. It also seems to stimulate the vagus nerve, producing a state of parasympathetic nervous system dominance. The parasympathetic nervous system has a general calming effect on the body. This is certainly consistent with the effects observed with CES. CES has been documented to normalize the body’s electrical fields. This has been measured on EEG (brain wave tracing). For example, people with moderate to severe pain from osteoarthritis were found to have abnormal brain wave activity. After five minutes of CES treatment, brain waves were virtually normal and pain was reduced by more than fifty percent. It has been found that individuals whose brain waves improved the most had the greatest pain relief. It is postulated that CES restores normal electromagnetic communication between cells. This may have the effect of regulating cellular differentiation, tissue repair, and immune function. The efficacy of CES has been demonstrated in many different ways. Studies have used twenty-seven different psychometric (pencil and paper) tests including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory. CES has consistently demonstrated reductions in anxiety on these tests. Other studies have measured the physiological manifestations of anxiety before and after CES treatment. Slowing of brain waves and respiration rate, as well as reduction in blood pressure are physical signs of stress reduction that have been documented with CES treatment. One placebo-controlled study evaluated the effects of CES treatment in twenty individuals with chronic stress symptoms of at least a year’s duration. All of them had failed to respond to medication. Muscle tension, heart rate and finger temperature were measured before, immediately after, and one week following a single twenty minute CES treatment. Muscle tension and heart rate decreased and finger temperature increased immediately after treatment in those receiving active CES treatment but not in the placebo (sham CES) group. One week after treatment, those who had received active CES treatment still had significantly reduced muscle tension and heart rate! This is one of the many advantages of CES over medications. Whereas medications only work as long as they are taken, CES effects are long lasting and cumulative. The neurotransmitters, or biochemicals, responsible for brain activity come from the foods we eat and the supplements we take. DIET While supplementation of choline is recommended, the following foods are good dietary sources of choline: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snacks
The long-term benefits of CES were demonstrated in another study, which examined the effects of CES on individuals with stress related attention deficit disorder (eight of the twenty-three subjects had a diagnosis of primary Attention Deficit Disorder). CES treatments of forty-five minutes duration were given daily for three weeks. The treatments resulted in reductions in anxiety and depression and improvement in IQ. Eighteen to twenty months after treatment, CES benefits were still retained, as demonstrated by maintenance or improvement of IQ scores! Other brain wave activity such as Alpha (8-12 Hz) and Delta (0-4 Hz) are generally not focused on by ADHD-Neurofeedback research. Worth noting is that in normal development, Alpha increases between the ages of 12-14, while Theta levels decrease at this time (Swartz, 1995). This maturational stage is delayed in ADHD population throughout the 12-14-age range. For example Mann, et al. (1992) found that ADHD boys showed continued increased levels of Theta representative of brainwave activity in younger children.
The ability to improve anxiety, depression and insomnia has made CES
a powerful adjunct for a variety of disorders, including drug and alcohol
rehabilitation. CES helps reduce withdrawal symptoms regardless of the
involved substance. CES has been studied with people recovering from
addictions to alcohol, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, morphine and barbiturates.
Studies have found CES to produce many beneficial psychological changes
in recovering addicts, including: reduced anxiety, hostility and depression,
improved planning, self esteem, assertiveness, decision-making skills,
feeling expression, energy levels and capacity for intimate contact.
CES speeds time to fall asleep, increases time spent in deepest sleep
and amount of time in bed spent asleep. It also reduces confusion and
bewilderment and increases IQ in recovering addicts. All of these beneficial
effects add up to a fifty % reduction in recidivism (over two years of
study) for substance abusers! CES is also very effective for pain relief. In addition to the arthritis study previously cited, headaches, fibromyalgia, low back pain, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction syndrome are a few of the chronic pain states documented to respond to CES. CES has been found to reduce frequency, intensity and duration of migraine
headaches. Fibromyalgia patients with severe chronic headaches were treated
with CES. These patients had failed to respond to various medications,
biofeedback, low tyramine diet, physical therapy and local injections.
About half of the seventy-five subjects had a significant reduction in
the frequency and intensity of headaches. This study also found an overall
net decrease in the sensitivity of six main tender points on various
parts of the body
. CES has shown benefit for a variety of other conditions. Phobias, closed
head injuries, cigarette withdrawal, bronchial asthma, excess acid secretion
by the stomach, bulimia, and anorexia nervosa all respond to CES. The
alpha state induced by CES may also improve sports performance. |
