Dr Schellenberg has been using microcurrent therapy for over 17 years. He has already utilised many generations of microcurrent devices in his practice. These include the Clinic-Master MSG 1200, Clinic-Master Professional, Vital-Master, LuXXaMed HD1000 and the LuXXaMed HD2000+. The treatment of chronic and acute pain is one of the main areas of application in Dr Schellenberg’s practice. Furthermore, he uses microcurrent and LED light therapy very successfully with patients suffering from neuropathy, migraine and diabetes. Dr Schellenberg is an expert in the field of microcurrent therapy. In this episode, hear about his journey and his understanding of microcurrent therapy.

As a LuXXaMed user, Dr Schellenberg can offer you plenty of tips and advice on how to use the LuXXaMed therapy successfully.

Partial transcript of the episode

"[…] these are experiences that actually confirm my theory that microcurrent must work; based on physiology and on what we know about the underlying principles, something must be happening. This confirms that this is the case even in patients under the influence of morphine and with an underlying diabetic metabolic condition […] Under the influence of the current, myelin synthesis is regenerated; the myelin sheaths of the peripheral nerves become dense again, meaning that the diabetic metabolic condition, which persists, causes less irritation. […] I’ve just had a young player who was having problems with his knee – the classic issues that handball players tend to have, which were also making it difficult for him to complete his training sessions. This resulted in pain after every match. After just a few treatment sessions, he was completely symptom-free and was able to increase his training workload again, push himself to the full during matches without experiencing any pain afterwards – and this has lasted; I believe he only had 3–4 sessions and was back to full fitness without any pain. This is something that, I believe, everyone else who uses this method in the sporting sector would describe. It has a very rapid and immediate effect, even under such extreme physical strain as that experienced by professional elite athletes. […] The literature states that over 70 per cent of back pain is psychogenic in nature; nevertheless, there must be a problem along the spine that triggers this pain somatically. I have the feeling that stability can be restored to the patient’s spine very quickly. I suggest that, ultimately, ligaments and tendons tighten when the electrodes are placed along the spine, thereby building up the static effect or static stability of the spine; as a result, all the irritation that would otherwise radiate out again due to intervertebral disc and spinal canal irritation processes no longer occur. This is simply because the spine regains its static stability, and the ligaments and tendons are stabilised. The electrical current achieves this brilliantly. […] It’s also a pleasure to work with it, especially now that we have the mobile options – holding the iPad in my hand, sitting a few metres away from the patient, and being able to control the therapy whilst observing exactly what is happening within the patient at that moment. […] the HD2000+ in particular offers ideal opportunities to monitor the therapy online and, if necessary, to influence it remotely. I believe this represents a methodological advance, made possible not only to improve patient care but also to the therapist’s satisfaction.[…]”

Source:

Walitschek, P. (5 February 2018). Interview on microcurrent therapy and the use of LuXXaMed devices. Interview with Priv.-Doz. Dr med. habil. Rüdiger Schellenberg. Hüttenberg.

00:00:09
Speaker 1: Welcome to the LuXXaMed GmbH podcast channel. All the information you need about LuXXaMed therapy, biological cell regulation, microcurrent and other interesting topics from the health sector. A warm welcome to a new podcast. This time, it’s a very special episode. In this episode’s interview, I’m joined by Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg. Dr Schellenberg has been practising microcurrent therapy and Luxxamed therapy for almost 17 years. That’s why I thought it would be interesting to gain a deeper insight into his perspective on the therapy. And also to gain a bit of insight into his experiences over the last 17 years. As well as hearing about his day-to-day practice when using the LuXXaMed HD2000+ and microcurrent therapy. Because I know that he also treats patients beyond pain management – that is, beyond the traditional application of microcurrent therapy. And I thought that might make for a really interesting new podcast episode. I hope you enjoy listening and perhaps leave a little feedback. Please rate us on the platforms where you listen to us. And I’d love to hear from you. We’re planning to do more interview episodes like this in future, because I believe that’s what will be most beneficial for you as listeners. So all that’s left for me to say is: enjoy the next episode. I’m at Dr Schellenberg’s practice in Hüttenberg, near Gießen. And you, Rüdiger, how many years have you been working with microcurrent in general now?

00:01:56
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: I think it must be 17 or 18 years now.

00:01:58
Speaker 1: 17 or 18 years?

00:02:00
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Yes.

00:02:00
Speaker 1: OK.

00:02:01
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: With the first devices, which back then were from… back then it wasn’t LuXXaMed yet, but – what was your company called back then?

00:02:07
Speaker 1: Walitschek Medizintechnik.

00:02:08
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Walitschek Medizintechnik. I was already using the first devices that came onto the market back then. And I can still remember how I myself acted as one of my first test subjects back then. It was a conference in Hamburg – a pain conference or a migraine conference – and for some reason… No, it was a poster I’d already put up there on microcurrent technology. And in the evening, when I went to bed at the hotel, I strained my back and was in terrible pain – sciatica-like pain. And as I still had the device right next to me in its case, I thought, before I set it up at the exhibition stand the next day, I’d plug myself in now. So I actually left it running there in bed for about half an hour – or was it longer? – I can’t remember. In any case, the pain had completely gone by the next day. And that fascinated me so much even back then that I thought: ‘That can’t possibly be true.’ Up until then, I’d only known about it a little from theory and a few treatments. And lo and behold, it suddenly almost completely relieved my back pain and I had no more problems the next day. That was fascinating. Furthermore, over the years, the treatments have continued to develop in such a way that, right now… I’m just thinking of a patient who’s currently undergoing microcurrent therapy – I believe he’s had seven or eight sessions so far. – A patient who has had diabetes for many years and is therefore severely affected by the resulting diabetic neuropathy. The skin in his abdominal area is so painful that he is already on morphine-based medication, although even that is no longer able to take full effect. What’s more, he simply doesn’t like the medication. But he’s in pain, which he describes on his own visual analogue scale as being between eight and ten. And that was practically the maximum level of pain he could imagine.

00:04:06
Speaker 1: Okay

00:04:07
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: This was taking a heavy toll on him. So we started using my favourite methods again. Firstly, medical hypnotherapy and, in parallel, microcurrent therapy – now using the new LuXXaMed HD2000+. In this way, the patient learnt to perceive this current, combined with the technique of suggestive influence through hypnosis that we applied. And now, after six or seven sessions, the patient reports that the pain intensity, which he had experienced for years as between eight and ten, is now only between four and five. This represents a reduction in pain intensity of over 50 per cent, which has enabled him to actually start tapering off his opioid treatment. His mood is also on the up again, as the pain had also made him depressed. And this long-standing realisation – ‘I’m diabetic’… and then he was told once, ‘At some point, you’ll develop diabetic neuropathy too’. Accepting that is difficult and does indeed lead to depression.

00:05:14
Speaker 1: I can see why

00:05:15
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: And right now, he’s really feeling the spring in his step and is driving off to places he wouldn’t have dared go to before because of the pain, and he’s incredibly optimistic that there’s even more to come. And this huge change he’s suddenly feeling is down entirely to the fact that microcurrent has been added to everything that’s been done so far. And lo and behold, it’s working. And these are experiences that actually reaffirm my theory that microcurrent must work. From a physiological point of view, and based on everything we know about the explanations and underlying principles, something simply has to be happening.

00:05:58
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: And in this way, it confirms – even in patients under the influence of morphine and with an unaltered diabetic metabolic state – that ultimately the peripheral nerve endings, which have been damaged by these biochemical irritants, the myelin sheaths of the peripheral nerves in diabetics simply break down, and as a result, the diabetic metabolic state is able to penetrate the myelin sheaths and irritate the nerve, and that causes pain. And, according to my theory, the electrical current triggers a regeneration of myelin synthesis, restoring the myelin sheaths of the peripheral nerves so that they become impermeable once more. Consequently, the diabetic metabolic state, which persists, is able to cause less irritation. And that is what has started to happen in this patient, already reducing the intensity of the pain by around 50 per cent.

00:06:56
Speaker 1: Yes, brilliant. A great result. The main area of application for microcurrent therapy, or Luxamed therapy, is, of course, pain. Naturally, this is neurological pain, but if I’ve understood correctly, you also use it in other areas. I believe, for example, in migraine therapy…

00:07:17
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: For migraine treatment, but also for issues relating to general regeneration. Patients who suffer from obesity and want to try not only to lose weight, but also to firm up their skin and connective tissue. I always say that quite explicitly. And it seems to work, so that such patients suddenly notice that their skin feels softer, silkier, smoother and firmer. And, alongside their weight loss, they may suddenly also notice that their connective tissue actually becomes more stable and firmer in certain areas. I think this is a process that is also very helpful here for perfectly healthy patients who simply want to do something for their bodies to address this issue. And it can be a very useful complementary measure for all treatments, particularly in the areas of regeneration, tissue stimulation and skin recovery. We know from wound surgery just how significantly microcurrent can improve wound-healing processes. But even normal skin seems to benefit from microcurrent, simply becoming healthier as a result.

00:08:30
Speaker 1: Essentially more vital – in other words, increasing vitality.

00:08:32
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Yes.

00:08:32
Speaker 1: Yes, that’s interesting. Speaking of obesity, I recently read a study on ‘microcurrent in combination with an appropriate exercise programme’. It involved two groups. One group exercised, whilst the other exercised and used microcurrent, and the results were significantly different. This was particularly true of the connective tissue. The firmness of the connective tissue observed in the test subjects was significantly different from that of the other group, so this is certainly a very interesting area of application there too.

00:09:04
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: And then there are all the other applications, particularly in the field of sports medicine and joint problems. Right here in Hüttenberg, the Hüttenberg handball team are back in the Bundesliga.

00:09:13
Speaker 1: Yes

00:09:14
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: I’m currently treating a young player who had problems with his knee – the classic issues that handball players face – which were practically preventing him from completing his training sessions and were causing him pain after every match. And after just a few treatment sessions, he was completely symptom-free and was able to increase his training workload again, push himself to the full and get through matches without any pain afterwards. And that has lasted. He only had three or four sessions and was back to full fitness without any problems or pain.

00:09:55
Speaker 1: That’s amazing.

00:09:55
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: That’s something I believe everyone else who uses it in the sporting sector describes as well. It has a very rapid, immediate effect under such extreme physical demands as those faced by professional athletes.

00:10:08
Speaker 1: To what extent do you combine this with light therapy? LuXXaMed does, after all, offer a form of light therapy.

00:10:13
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Yes, increasingly so. I simply incorporate it into my treatment and haven’t yet had enough experience to make definitive comparisons, but I’m simply drawing on the theory that the effects of light can also have anti-inflammatory or regenerative effects. And that’s why it definitely makes sense to apply the light applicators as well. And I do that for every indication. Wherever the problem lies, I don’t just place the adhesive electrodes there, but also apply the light around them.

00:10:47
Speaker 1: Yes, brilliant. How would you see it? I mean, microcurrent therapy is often treated as a stand-alone form of therapy by many practitioners. How do you view it in… Let’s say in terms of a treatment plan? You’ve just mentioned it – you combine it, for example, with medical hypnotherapy. What are your general experiences? Microcurrent as a component of a treatment plan?

00:11:13
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Both are possible – using it on its own or in combination with other methods. And as I try to trigger a wide range of processes by activating the body’s self-healing mechanisms in this way. And hypnosis offers enormous potential in this regard. I believe this can only be enhanced by the parallel application of microcurrent. Perhaps the reverse is also true: that what the microcurrent activates in the tissue is conveyed to the brain through suggestions, enabling it to be implemented even more intensively.

00:11:48
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: And there is simply a lack of comparative studies involving a specific patient group, comparing the use of such methods with and without this combination. And as I use it to treat patients, I do my utmost to give them the chance to feel better as quickly as possible. And my feeling is that this combination makes that possible – that it is definitely more effective and works even faster when microcurrent is used in combination with such techniques.

00:12:21
Speaker 1: This is also consistent with other areas where such combinations are used. Particularly in the field of physiotherapy at the moment, it has been combined extensively with medical exercise therapy. Particularly with patients suffering from back problems – specifically, herniated discs. And it has become apparent that microcurrent simply enhances the training effect in these cases. Patients are able to move more quickly and effectively when properly guided during exercise therapy. This helps build up the muscles, and so the two approaches complement each other.

00:12:49
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Yes.

00:12:50
Speaker 1: The musculoskeletal system is stabilised, metabolism is optimised through microcurrent therapy, and so you simply reach your goal more quickly. It’s also, so to speak, a method of using the whole thing as a building block.

00:13:04
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Yes. I currently have a patient undergoing treatment who initially came to us primarily for anxiety disorders. Ultimately, that’s a completely different issue. But such patients often experience pain that is purely psychogenic in origin, and she has enormous problems with her back. She says that at every level of her spine, any movement triggers pain and that she now only takes it easy. She hardly tries to move at all and has simply developed a fear that the pain will put further strain on her. And that is a typical example where psychological processes ultimately result in pain.

00:13:46
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: The literature suggests that up to 70 per cent of back pain may well have a psychogenic cause. Nevertheless, there must be a problem somewhere along the spine that also triggers this pain somatically. And I have the feeling that stability can be restored to these patients’ spines very quickly. I suggest that, ultimately, ligaments and tendons tighten when the electrodes are placed along the spine. This builds up the static effect or static stability of the spine. And ultimately, all the stimuli that would otherwise cause pain to radiate again via the intervertebral discs and irritation of the spinal canal no longer occur. This is because the spine regains its structural stability as the ligaments and tendons are stabilised. And this is achieved brilliantly through the electrical current.

00:14:41
Speaker 1: Very good, very nice. Perhaps, to round things off, we could return to where we started our conversation. Seventeen or eighteen years ago, you started out – and, as far as the German market is concerned, you’ve worked your way through all the microcurrent device ranges, so to speak, haven’t you?

00:14:57
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Yes.

00:14:57
Speaker 1: You started with the first Klinikmaster, didn’t you, where you still had to set the frequencies manually.

00:15:02
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: That’s right, the one with the console-style design.

00:15:04
Speaker 1: Yes, the MSG1200. Exactly.

00:15:06
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Yes.

00:15:06
Speaker 1: Okay.

00:15:08
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: And that one was also therapeutically effective.

00:15:10
Speaker 1: Definitely.

00:15:11
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: Otherwise, further development wouldn’t have been possible at all. But its application has also become increasingly sophisticated. And that’s what makes it easier to use in practice. It’s also a pleasure to work with it, because you now have these mobile options: holding an iPad in your hand, being able to sit a few metres away from the patient, controlling the therapy and monitoring online exactly what’s happening inside the patient at that moment. I think there have also been methodological advances that make the work particularly interesting for those who don’t just want to switch the machine on and then wait and wait until the treatment time is up, but who also want to see what is happening inside the patient during the treatment. And the HD2000+ in particular now offers ideal opportunities to monitor therapies online and, if necessary, to influence them online as well. I think that’s certainly a methodological advance, made possible not only for the sake of better patient care, but also for the therapist’s own enjoyment.

00:16:14
Speaker 1: Yes, brilliant, that’s lovely. Well then, I’d like to say: Thank you very much for your time. Thank you very much for the interview. Perhaps we’ll have another opportunity to discuss the psychosomatic aspects of illnesses. To see if there might be any points of connection there for using microcurrent therapy. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you and say, see you soon.

00:16:39
Dr Rüdiger Schellenberg: You’re welcome. Well then, see you soon. All the best.

00:16:42
Speaker 1: Thank you. I hope you enjoyed the interview with Dr Schellenberg. I’d be delighted if you could perhaps leave a review on iTunes. Or on any other platform where you listen to the podcast. That would be brilliant! If you have any questions about microcurrent therapy, using the LuXXaMed or anything else, please do feel free to send us an email. You’ll find our contact details on our website at www.luxxamed.de. So if you have any questions, just send us a quick message. We’re always delighted to hear from you and will reply as soon as we can. Well then, I’d say, until next time. Thank you very much for tuning in, for listening, and until next time.