Alpha-Stim®’s own Dr. Daniel L. Kirsch is featured in the Summer 2018 issue of The Pain Practitioner. The magazine, which is published quarterly by the Academy of Integrative Pain Management, spoke with Dr. Kirsch for their issue focusing on “Electric Medicine + Opioid Moral Value, Putting Your Brain to Work, and What Lies Ahead”.
Dr. Kirsch has been a member of AIPM since 1990, and was awarded the Richard Weiner Pain Education Award at the American Academy of Pain Management (the former name of AIPM) Conference in 2008. He established Alpha-Stim in 1981 and since then has been striving to raise awareness and acceptance of the technology in a medical world that tends to lean heavily on prescription drugs.
The Alpha-Stim AID is an FDA cleared, handheld medical device that uses Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES), transmitted through noninvasive Earclip Electrodes, to treat insomnia. The Alpha-Stim M does this, but also uses Microcurrent Electrical Therapy (MET), delivered through two handheld Smart Probes, to relieve pain precisely where it hurts.
Alpha-Stim has been proven clinically effective in over 100 independent research studies. Since it is not a drug, there is no risk of addiction or lasting side effects. Nine out of ten users report significant relief; over 200 United States Department of Defense practitioners and more than 92 VA hospitals rely on Alpha-Stim for the treatment of military personnel with pain and insomnia.
As the inventor of this device, Dr. Kirsch is a fitting candidate for a profile in the AIPM’s trusted publication. The magazine writers asked Dr. Kirsch about the creation and growth of Alpha-Stim over the years. Asked about the initial response of the medical community to the introduction of Alpha-Stim, Dr. Kirsch replied, “I guess I would say the immediate reaction was ridicule…The original Alpha-Stim 2000 was introduced in 1981. It cost $5,850 and weighed 40 pounds.” This is a far cry from today, when Alpha-Stim has “more research than any other therapeutic device, a huge advertising budget,” and the United State military as the largest customer.
When asked what he finds challenging in the field of pain management, Dr. Kirsch replied, “There are still many, if not most, doctors stuck in the chemical-only mindset. I believe all doctors want to do good but unfortunately too many define that as acceptance by their peers rather than results in their patients. They want to do the most acceptable treatment and continue to do that even if their patients don’t improve.”
Dr. Kirsch continues to strive to reach as many people as possible with the benefits of CES. His goal is to see the Alpha-Stim accepted as a first line of treatment, instead of a last resort. And so it makes sense that what Dr. Kirsch reports as the most satisfying part of his career so far “is to see, hear, and read about people recovering from long-standing disorders and enjoying a much better quality of life.”
To see for yourself the drastic difference that Alpha-Stim can make on pain and insomnia – and what has the AIPM talking – get started today!