The third and final part of the interview with physiotherapist Matthias Rother on the use of frequency-specific microcurrent and LED light. This part focuses specifically on muscle therapy, and more precisely on the treatment of reflex muscles. Matthias explains what reflex muscles are and why microcurrent therapy and LED light therapy in particular can offer a decisive advantage here.

“Our body reacts to any ‘disruption’ of its system with functional and, consequently, movement restrictions; regardless of whether these are acute events such as a sports injury or long-standing stress factors. […] What are the therapeutic implications of this? Is the actual origin of a complaint located where these symptoms occur? Is an acute sports injury really just that, or is it – ultimately – the logical consequence of another injury sustained years ago, which the body has so far been able to compensate for effectively? What influence do scars have on the musculoskeletal system and movement patterns? The list of questions could
go on.
The therapeutic implication is a careful and thorough assessment and diagnosis of the case presented to the therapist. This is the key to the success or failure of a therapy or treatment. The use of LED and microcurrent therapy provides the therapist with a tool that enables them to carry out this ‘investigation into the causes’ quickly, efficiently and simply; with the useful side effect that, whilst the assessment/examination is taking place, the patient is already receiving beneficial therapy – killing two birds with one stone, so to speak… "

Microcurrent therapy offers an excellent approach to treating the reflex muscle system. In particular, the LED light therapy provided by the Luxxamed HD2000+ can be a valuable tool in this regard.

Part 1 of the interview

Part 2 of the interview

Patrick Walitschek: Welcome to a new podcast from LuXXaMed GmbH. My name is Patrick Walitschek and, as promised, this week’s episode brings you the third and final part of the interview with physiotherapist Matthias Rother on the use of microcurrent therapy and LED light therapy as part of physiotherapy practice. This final part focuses in particular on the topic of reflex muscles. Matthias explains what reflex muscles are and, on the one hand, why they can be treated very, very effectively and very quickly with microcurrent and LED light and, on the other hand, why it can also be extremely important to take these very muscles into account when assessing the patient’s condition and determining the appropriate treatment. He explained this using a few examples, and so I’d say I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. I hope you enjoy this episode. As I said, this is the final episode. If you’re only just tuning in to this podcast now, do have a look: we’ve published episodes 1 and 2 online, of course, on our website www.luxxamed.de, but also on all the usual podcast platforms. So it definitely makes sense to start with the first episode rather than jumping in halfway through, as the episodes do build on one another to some extent. Right then, enjoy the interview – the final part – with physiotherapist Matthias Rother.

00:01:46
Patrick Walitschek: As I’ve mentioned at length – and I’m sure this will still be of interest, as I know there are lots of questions on this and we’ve also run specific courses on the subject in the past – albeit a few years ago now, if you like – namely the topic of the reflex muscle system, which, as you’ve described, you’ve already touched on parts of it – you’ve mentioned a few of the muscles involved – so perhaps we could go into that again, or you could explain once more: what is the reflex muscle system, how do you use light and electricity within this system, and why does it work so well?

00:02:23
Matthias Rother: So, the reflex muscle system: I first learnt about this from my two teachers back in the nineties and heard the term ‘reflex muscles’ for the first time. In principle, it’s just one part of our overall muscular structure. These are muscles that, in principle, react quickly to any disturbances. It’s a protective system in the event of injury: if I hurt myself somehow, or twist my ankle, or something like that, there are muscles that try to prevent that from happening. There are muscles that then try to protect the compromised, injured structure by simply limiting the range of motion when something is damaged: you try to move it as little as possible so that it’s protected and doesn’t get damaged any further – that’s actually quite clever. This is what small functional muscles do. A really great, striking example: one of the most essential and important reflex muscles, which is frequently discussed, is the plantaris longus, which runs through the lower leg, in the calf; the muscle begins on the lateral side of the thigh, just above the knee joint, at the ankle joint space. The muscle itself is relatively small; it is situated in the hollow of the knee and then transitions into a thin tendon which attaches medially to the calf muscles and then merges laterally into the Achilles tendon. This muscle limits dorsiflexion – or dorsal extension, as it is variously termed – which means that when I treat the large calf muscles, the gastrocnemius, it often happens that I cannot really restore full range of motion. However, if you treat and regulate this platysma longus – however you choose to do so – you’ll restore that range of motion: that’s a lovely, striking example. Another great, striking example is the diaphragm, the respiratory diaphragm: this is actually one of the very, very central reflex muscles. It’s not just there for breathing – for inhaling and exhaling – but it’s a reflex muscle that actually kicks in whenever there’s a disturbance, regardless of whether it’s stress, injury or anything else that occurs: the diaphragm is always involved. If I hurt myself, what do I do? I flinch, take a deep breath – quickly and forcefully – and, bang, there’s already – let’s call it – a slight spasm, and it gets stuck like that. What are the consequences of this? It doesn’t just affect breathing; that’s negligible. Structurally, it affects the mobility of almost all structures in the body. We can observe that when we regulate the tension in the diaphragm, neck rotation improves significantly as a result. We can see that in a general, somewhat non-specific test of the shoulder joint, external rotation improves. We can observe that hip mobility improves through regulation of the respiratory diaphragm. We can see that, by regulating the respiratory diaphragm, dorsiflexion in the foot improves. This is a fact. You can try it out and then see for yourself. Yes, trunk rotation improves. The diaphragm is a very, very, very central muscle, and this is not only due to its insertion between (unv.) 8 and (unv.) 11, 12 – as it is described – the main muscular insertions of the spine. There’s also (unv.), and then there’s this insertion down to L2, L3, L4 and up, almost to the neck, because phylogenetically it originates from the (unv.) nerve and runs (unv.). It’s a very, very central muscle; one could now list quite a few more examples – up to 20 others – but I think that might be a bit much; it isn’t necessary, but this illustrates, in the basic scheme, that it’s simply enormously important to use a few muscles like this as a starting point to gain a foothold in treatment and to get into the therapy or – as I hinted at earlier – to filter out the key points in terms of analysis: “Where does the problem lie?” It’s a fascinating story. I haven’t neglected this in recent years – that would be putting it the wrong way. I no longer work quite in the same way as I did – I don’t know – six or eight years ago: everything has changed a bit. I’ve set different priorities, or rather, I’ve discovered them – partly by chance, partly through a bit of study, reading, learning, reflection and discussion with other colleagues. Other structures and other skills have come into play as well, (unv.) because they’re simply very important in this context. (unv.)

00:08:46
Patrick Walitschek: I particularly like that, because when you mentioned the diaphragm, it just occurred to me – perhaps you still remember it; unfortunately, I can’t quite piece it together now, I’d have to look it up – but I remember a training course where we were together with Dr Voracek, where he showed functional MRI images – that is, during movement and breathing – and also depicted the diaphragm there, before examining the whole thing from an evolutionary biology perspective. It was absolutely fascinating: it really highlighted just how important this muscle actually is for our overall development – or, ultimately, for the overall development of the human organism.

00:09:27
Matthias Rother: Enormously important! We also need to consider the structural aspect: everything has to pass through the diaphragm – all the vessels heading towards the lower limbs have to go through there. Firstly, the arteries and veins carrying blood back to the heart, the lymphatic system, the entire nervous supply – it all passes through there. The organs below are situated right next to it, which means that if I’m experiencing any kind of stress, even in an organ that’s spatially close by, this irritates the diaphragm. (unv.) Biochemical, stress-related – that is, the organ isn’t functioning properly, for whatever reason – poor diet, too much alcohol, whatever. Then there’s the whole issue of emotional stress, which is by no means insignificant; personally, I attach relatively great importance to it. That, too, has an impact on the organs and consequently on the diaphragm – it’s a kind of interplay, so it’s hugely significant, absolutely. (unv.)

00:10:43
Patrick Walitschek: Perhaps to round things off now, also on the subject of reflex muscles, could you give us a very brief practical tip? If we’re sticking with the topic of reflex muscles, let’s take the diaphragm as an example: in a nutshell, what is your practical approach to treating the diaphragm with microcurrent therapy?

00:11:02
Matthias Rother: Treating the diaphragm?

00:11:04
Patrick Walitschek: Yes.

00:11:06
Matthias Rother: I use light, a combination of light and manual techniques. So, at the front of the rib cage, I pre-treat the area with the light heads; I have to say, diaphragm treatment is rarely enjoyable for the patient. If I pre-treat it with light – as I’ve mentioned several times – it’s better received because it’s not so uncomfortable, it doesn’t hurt as much; or, to begin with, I have to get my fingers under the costal arch to reach the area manually, so that I can actually perform a manual stretch on the patient – and that requires pre-treatment with light. We used to do this – before we had the light – with electricity, using those rod electrodes; we’d place one at the front on the sternum (unv.) and, with the second rod electrode at the back in parallel, run it down the spine, from T4 to L2, L3, on both the right and left sides; and that was very quick and produced very rapid results. That was back when things changed for me – the whole technique – and we then had the light heads at our disposal, and the use of rod electrodes gradually faded into the background; indeed, from 2000 onwards, rod electrodes were no longer used at all, so we had to change our working method a little. We initially tried to replicate the technique using the light heads in exactly the same way at the back of the spine, but it turned out that this wasn’t as effective and didn’t work as quickly as it did with the rod electrodes, so I simply adapted my approach. As I said, I opened the area at the front of the rib cage using the light. You can combine the two approaches: you can use one or two light heads, holding the left one against the rib cage, and after you’ve given the right side a rough treatment, you can start working on the right side manually – that option is available. What I’d like to add here is the treatment of the back, specifically the serratus posterior inferior. This is a muscle that, back in the early days of this reflex muscle concept, wasn’t taken into account at all. However, for me it is an enormously important muscle that plays a key role in functional mobility; it can be treated very easily with the light, which is what I always do first. The patient is seated, I simply place the light device on it, treat the area, then remove the light device, perform some gentle movements with the patient – or they do them with me – and then I switch sides, moving to the front of the rib cage; this way I can open up the diaphragm very quickly and effectively. And it’s not uncommon for patients to suddenly take a deep breath and say, Oh wow, I can breathe better now. And then one thing leads to another: Oh, now my back doesn’t feel quite so tight, my neck is opening up a bit, my head feels clearer – you get that sort of feedback in all sorts of ways when you do this. So I can only recommend incorporating this into therapy.

00:15:02
Patrick Walitschek: Brilliant! I do hope, too, that we’ll soon be able to hold a proper in-person seminar in the form of a workshop again – something that hasn’t really worked out so well this year due to the circumstances. We’re planning – as I briefly mentioned earlier – to run the whole thing as a webinar as well. We’ll definitely be doing that, towards the end of this year, depending, of course, on when you’re listening to this podcast. The end of this year would be 2020, so we’ll certainly be doing a webinar then. And yes, the problem is this: webinars are all well and good – they’re a brilliant thing, easy to follow, and you can watch the recording over and over again. Personally, I just see the problem: there’s this gap that opens up when it comes to practical work, and in our courses we really do place great emphasis on ensuring that the work is genuinely practical, because only then can you actually learn it properly – especially as you’ve just described with reflex muscle therapy, with light and so on, the techniques, the procedures. Of course, you can demonstrate a striking electrode setup in a webinar using dummies, images and so on, and we’ll be doing that this year, definitely – I think in late November or early December. We haven’t set an exact date yet, but it’s sure to be a great event. It’s also a challenge for us because we don’t want to record the whole thing; we actually want to livestream it. And in that sense, I’d say that, as far as my area of expertise is concerned – which I’d really like to discuss with you – based on my experience with many clients I speak to on a daily basis – or users, to put it more accurately – these are often questions and topics that simply spark interest. So, from my side, I’m actually done for now, unless you have any suggestions, ideas or anything else to add.

00:17:04
Matthias Rother: We could certainly carry on discussing this for hours and give examples or offer suggestions. It’s a broad topic, and the (unint.) are certainly varied too, so I think, for the first time, this is good enough for now, and then we’ll have to see, within this format – this podcast that you’re gradually developing and making increasingly diverse – just how far we can take certain topics within this framework. We’ll have to see, as you just said, including the webinar that’s planned: that’ll be exciting – I’m really looking forward to seeing how we structure it, because one big thing I always find missing in formats like this is simply the direct exchange, and that’s just difficult to achieve. I can stand in front of the camera and use a dummy of some sort – we could book actors or whoever – and show and demonstrate something, but it’s only theory. The hands-on experience, the direct interaction – that’s simply not there; it just doesn’t happen. And in my view, that’s the problem with these formats – not that I want to speak ill of them, mind you; you’ve got to give them a go. We really need to get back in touch with our colleagues; I absolutely agree with you on that. Because for me, direct interaction is always the be-all and end-all, and that simply doesn’t happen through a screen. This has, of course, been discussed at length in recent months for various other reasons, or I’ve experienced it at home – I have two school-age children, one of whom has been having regular online lessons. He’s twelve, and he told me exactly the same thing: ‘Yeah, I listen to it, but no, somehow it’s not that great.’ It’s not very effective. Teachers I’m treating tell me the same thing: ‘You can present something there, but the very essence of what makes teaching what it is – and this applies to a therapeutic seminar too, which is really just another form of teaching – is developing something together through dialogue.’ Sure, there’s always a Zambalo standing at the front who wants to – or is supposed to – pass on some knowledge, but that exchange, that feedback, is simply missing. And for me, especially in seminars like these, that’s always the beauty of it, the productive aspect: simply exchanging ideas, with hands going up: “Yes, but” or “What do you think about this topic?” and so on. You simply have a really lovely exchange, and on many occasions over all these years that we’ve been running seminars and workshops, I’ve also taken away suggestions – I must make that quite clear – where someone has thrown something into the mix or been critical at times; there have even been the odd debate, which isn’t a bad thing at all, it’s often a positive thing; you take it on board, reflect on it afterwards and say, ‘Wow, that’s a good point.’ And these things simply can’t be replicated in a webinar – that’s just the way it is, unfortunately – but in the current situation, it’s better than nothing.

00:20:40
Patrick Walitschek: Better than nothing, exactly. I mean, perhaps at some point we’ll get to the stage where we can use virtual reality or augmented reality. I actually think augmented reality is: I studied augmented reality at university as part of a course on innovation design – it’s a really fascinating subject – and I believe you can do some truly amazing things with it, particularly in medicine. But I don’t think we want to go into that any further right now. I think, given the time constraints, we’re at the point where we’ll split this podcast into three parts – or rather, I’ll be splitting this podcast into three parts. We’ll stick to our weekly schedule. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you, our listeners, just yet what we’ll be bringing you as the next episode after this third part, which will be in three weeks’ time. I do have one idea, though, which I might be able to share: a study has just been published today on PubMed – the abstract hasn’t been submitted yet, but at least the title is there – and it specifically concerns a study on ‘The effect of microcurrent on chronic pain, particularly in fibromyalgia patients’, and this study was carried out using the LuXXaMed HD 2000+, and I can say: the results are absolutely brilliant. I just can’t say too much about it yet, as it hasn’t been fully published. It’s been submitted, it’s been registered, and you can already read the title online on PubMed and other sites – I believe on ResearchGate as well. In three weeks’ time – or perhaps four at the latest – this is sure to be a cracking topic and a cracking podcast. And at this point, I’d like to thank you for listening and for tuning in. Of course, I’d like to give a very special thanks to Matthias – to you – for taking the time. I think this technical setup over the phone – and I actually had to tweak a few things at home because I’m currently working from home whilst recording this podcast – but I reckon it’s working quite well. We’ll see what the audio quality is like in the end; I’ll know in five minutes. But yes, over to you: thank you very much for the time you’ve set aside today after your day at the practice, and for sharing your experiences and insights on the whole topic of microcurrent, LED light therapy and so on with our listeners.

00:22:53
Matthias Rother: Yes, I was happy to do it. It’s always fun. I think it’s important to pass things on. Right, let’s see what our next topic is. That study on fibromyalgia and chronic pain – I’m really looking forward to that too; it’s brilliant. Perhaps we could follow it up once we’ve had a chance to read it in full – maybe it’ll provide material for a separate topic?

00:23:20
Patrick Walitschek: Yes, definitely. We should definitely do that!

00:23:26
Matthias Rother: (unint.) But for now, let’s wait for that paper – what they’ve published there looks very interesting. I’m looking forward to it too.

00:23:32
Patrick Walitschek: Great! Well then, as I said, to our listeners once again, thank you very much. As usual, it would be great if you could a) perhaps follow us on social media again. We’re quite active on Instagram – pretty much every day, actually – and the same goes for Facebook and Twitter. Although I should point out that this is really just a mirror of our Instagram posts. So we’re mainly active on Instagram and Facebook, and of course on YouTube too. Just have a quick search on Google for the hashtag “LuXXaMed” or “microcurrent” and you’ll definitely find us on social media. It would be great if you’d follow us there as a listener, and of course, please do rate our podcast, no matter which platform you use to listen to it – whether it’s Apple, Google or anywhere else. Just click on the five stars and write a short review – that would be absolutely brilliant! And of course, feel free to offer any criticism if there’s room for improvement, or if you have any topics, ideas or suggestions for future episodes: please do get in touch – that would be brilliant! You’ll be taking a huge load off my shoulders. And yes, on that note, once again: thank you very much and see you next time!