Items You May Need

• Clippers – for animals with very long or matted fur
• Cotton balls and alcohol – to clean diry ears at site of Earclip placement
• Spray bottle of water – on some animals with thick fur, misting them helps to get electrode contact
• Clipboard and pen – to have protocol attached and be able to take notes easily. Especially helpful if outside working on a horse.
• Tips for using Alpha-Stim on animals cheat sheet

Reasons why it may appear that Alpha-Stim is not helping

• Treating too tight – It is important to encompass all the tissue effected by the trauma or injury. Don’t focus just at the obvious but treat beyond it.
• Not treating often enough – Generally it is optimal to treat twice a day for the first 2 weeks then reduce as the patient responds. Treating only once or twice a week will extend the timeline to reach desired results. For this reason it is best for the owner to be able to treat at home between clinic visits, or hospitalize the animal.
• Scars are present – Scars are barriers and impede electrical flow. A scar anywhere on the body, not just in the area of concern, can cause interference. If you are not getting expected response in a short period of time, look for scars and treat them using the scar protocol.
• Failing to use CES after MET treatment – It is vital for severe pain and chronic conditions that CES treatment follows a peripheral MET Smart Probe or AS-Trode treatment. CES addresses the 4th Pain Pathway and should be included in treatment protocols.
• Not following standard protocols – The success of Alpha-Stim MET is partially based on the waveform, and partially on the established protocol patterns. Omitting steps during a probe treatment will reduce the successful gains you could have.
• Another problem exists – If you have treated for at least 2 weeks and are not getting any changes anywhere, consider other etiologies.
• Stopping therapy too soon – there are 2 changes that can occur which could seem suboptimal, but can actually be good indicators.

  1)CES: An animal that has been in severe pain for an extended time or an older pet that has not been sleeping well, pacing at night, panting, and restless may respond in an unexpected manner. The beneficial aspects of CES may allow them to finally get to sleep. Because their body has been sleep deprived and in a deficient state, they may now sleep for many more hours throughout the day. They are in a healing state. This will pass or begin to reduce after a few days and in a few weeks they can be much improved and back to sleeping on regular hours

  2)MET: A chronic condition may pass back through an acute phase for a brief period of time. Do not stop therapy, keep treating and the symptoms will begin to subside and the patient improve

• Not noticing small improvements – While we do get dramatic improvements in a short period of time, this is not always the case. However, small gains can be measured and considered significant. Any positive change in the animals behavior, interactions, sleep, posture, or motion should be assessed and noted. Our Pain, Anxiety, Stress Questionnaire can make this evaluation easier. The owner fills it out on the initial visit and then on subsequent visits. It allows you to track progress during their daily routines at home.
• Understanding electrical physiology – Learning the science of the body’s electrical physiology, how it can instantly change receptors and ligands, and how the body responds will help you to better utilize this therapeutic modality.

Questions?

We’re here to help. Give us a call at 1-800-FOR-PAIN or email info@alphastimforanimals.com.