Has anyone tried an 'electric neck muscle stimulator' for CFS?

[helperofearth123]

Hello everyone,
I came across this interesting study about Cervical Neuro-Muscular Syndrome (CNMS) and CFS done in Japan in 2012 where there were some remarkably good results:

Full study text:
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/nmc/52/2/52_2_75/_pdf

Forum thread about it:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...uscular-syndrome-cnms-study-and-me-cfs.14972/

It shows a picture of "low frequency therapy", looks like eletriclal stimulation of the neck muscles. So that gave me the idea to look up electric neck massagers online (cheaper than flying to Japan for treatment!). This looks like a decent one, it appears similar in effect to what is used in the study.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/U-Neck-TREA...=1-10&keywords=The+Heat+Therapy+Neck+Massager.

I'm considering buying one and giving it a go. I had a huge improvement from around 20% energy to 70% a year ago with an aruvedic doctor who gave me a series of neck massages, and he said it was due to increasing blood flow to the brain. Unfortunately they stopped working when I caught colds in the winter and the energy went way back down again. But maybe daily stimulation from one of these massagers would do the trick?

Any experiences?

 

[SDSue]

I find this quite fascinating.

While there are a lot of abnormalities in ME/CFS (reactivated viruses, immune dysfunction, etc) that cannot be explained by Cervical Neuro-Muscular Syndrome (CNMS), I have to wonder if this explains many of us developing dysautonomia after a period of time ill with ME/CFS.

Consider: We get very ill with ME/CFS. We are no longer up and around, but are in bed (or sofa). As a result, our necks are put in abnormal stress positions for long periods of time. Could this be the trigger for our dysautonomia? Could this cervical spine stress be part of the cause of elevated cytokines?

If I had unlimited resources I'd probably pursue more acupuncture and chiropractic service….. and that's a mighty big "if".

@Matthew Jones said, "Any experiences?"

 

[adreno]

Pressure on nerves in the neck could definitely contribute to our symptoms, including OI. I would consider neck massage worth a try. No idea if the machines are any good, though. Also I'm not sure if neck massage would be sufficient. My traps and rhomboids are also very tight.

 

[perchance dreamer]

My acupressure mat helps with tightness and muscle spasms.

The brand I got is the Heavenly Mat. I put a contoured pillow underneath the top and position the top of the mat so that it lies against the back of my neck.

There are other brands that have acupressure pillows:

http://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Acup...8&qid=1409673691&sr=1-1&keywords=heavenly+mat