{"id":773,"date":"2025-11-07T10:23:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T10:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/?post_type=press&p=773"},"modified":"2025-11-07T10:23:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T10:23:24","slug":"the-healing-power-of-microcurrent","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/press\/the-healing-power-of-microcurrent\/","title":{"rendered":"The healing power of microcurrent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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FROM THE ARCHIVES.<\/strong>
Whilst having a clean up at the ARC Offices, we came across this article from 08\/04\/2015. We thought we would put it up as a blast from the past and to see how far we have come.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ArcEquine unit was this month chosen as one of the best 20 inventions and innovations in the UK for the Gadget Show Live British Inventors\u2019 Project. Eleanor Jones met the man behind the \u2018miracle\u2019 microcurrent machine.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IAN Thirkell is a former Met Police copper, who has never ridden in his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the 66-year-old from Hawkhurst has made a difference to the lives of thousands of horses, other animals and people with his ArcEquine unit, causing significant improvement to conditions from broken legs to bullet wounds and from allergies to asthma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technology behind the Arc is simple, but its effects are fantastic. The unit generates minute sequences of electrical current which replicate exactly that produced by  every  cell in the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By doing so, it appears to promote and speed up healing, reduce pain, both mental and psychological, remove scar tissue, regenerate and, as Ian describes it, \u201ccompletely re- boot and rebalance the body\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve devoted 13 years to exploring the boundaries of the clinical applications of this technology\u201d, says Ian. \u201cI haven\u2019t found them yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former Skinners\u2019 pupil has seen more than 3,000 subjects, from cows with prolapsed uteruses to amputees with phantom limb pain, and the Arc has helped all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when he first heard of microcurrent technology, when his wife was offered the chance to study the subject for a PhD, Ian, who had recently retired from the Met, was deeply sceptical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy wife explained how it worked and I was totally scathing\u201d, he remembers. \u201cFor someone with my evidence-based police background, it was completely illogical \u2013 but I kept an open mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ian read books associated with his wife\u2019s course, grew intrigued with this technology and its \u2018incredible\u2019 results and eventually, using a basic prototype delivery system, started some trials of his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomeone told me the physiology of horses is very similar to that of people so the effects must be the same\u201d, he says. \u201cSo I set up a company as a vehicle to test it. I quickly found that no one would send me a horse which the vets had said might come right. The ones I was sent were far worse than that \u2013 they\u2019d had life-changing, career- threatening injuries and their other option was being retired or shot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2002 and 2004, Ian was sent 16 racehorses, with injuries such as completely ruptured tendons which should have meant they were never ridden again, let alone raced. But the average time from the start of treatment to the first race back was 30 weeks. And although he has not yet created a unit specifically for human use, riders who have used it on their mounts have been so impressed with its effects, they have used it to treat themselves, with comparable results. Ian has also worked with sportsmen and women competing at international level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how does it work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe unit replicates the current which exists in the body at cellular level\u201d, he explains. \u201cIt affects everything that goes in and out of each cell and therefore the proper function of the body, which is entirely made up of cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s damage or trauma to a group of cells, it\u2019s like a broken electric circuit, it doesn\u2019t work properly. In layman\u2019s terms, we introduce this same current from an external source and it re-boots the body. It\u2019s like a defibrillator almost in that it shocks the system into working again but not only that, it works at an enhanced level. It\u2019s like a set of jump leads, which kick-start and supercharge the body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unit does not appear particularly ground-breaking at first sight. A small black box and a strap, designed to fit on a horse\u2019s leg but just as comfortable on a human arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The user selects the programme  he or she wants \u2013 there are two different sequences of  current, each delivered in two different ways, which therefore have slightly different effects \u2013 applies gel to the rubber electrode pads, straps it on and leaves it for three hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And although intermittent or occasional use has been known to have beneficial effect, the key is to allow the treatment time to work. \u201cThe two most important words are compliance and patience\u201d, says Ian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe microcurrent seems to have a cumulative effect, it slowly builds. This isn\u2019t a silver bullet, it doesn\u2019t work overnight \u2013 although I have seen that happen, it isn\u2019t normal. We recommend that to give it the best chance of working properly, you give it six weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t a miracle cure, nothing is, but it will work if you give it a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it may seem illogical, the unit does not have to be strapped to the affected part of the body \u2013 far from it. In fact if a horse has an injured leg, the Arc is rotated between the other three limbs, yet the injured one heals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t one cell talking to one other cell, it\u2019s one talking to lots of others\u201d, Ian explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you stub your toe, you pull it away immediately. The signal has gone up to your brain and back down again instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt works systemically so it doesn\u2019t matter where you introduce the current, it always goes to the right place, it seems to seek out whatever\u2019s out of place.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI first found out about that when I dealt with a woman in Ashford, who had an ankle problem. She put the unit on her leg and when I saw her six months later, she said the ankle was better but that she had even more to be grateful about. She said her hay fever had gone and that while her hair had been sparse and she\u2019d had a bald patch the size of a 50p, her hair was thick and lustrous and the bald patch had gone. The unit had only ever been on her leg.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ian tells of other subjects who used the Arc to treat a specific condition but had also noticed sensations in other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always asked if they\u2019d injured that place and the answer was always yes. My theory is that the current\u2019s done its job, gone looking for other things to repair, found scar tissue and eliminated it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as removing old scar tissue, Ian says, another remarkable thing about the ArcEquine is that it heals by regenerating cells. So while a torn tendon would naturally repair itself with scar tissue \u2013 which has different elastic qualities to the original fibres and attaches at two points so there is more risk of re-injury \u2013 the Arc induces regeneration of the original fibres. \u201cIt creates a different type of collagen\u201d, Ian explains. \u201cWe don\u2019t know why, but it does.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not scientific, the last 13 years have been trial and error, that\u2019s one reason it\u2019s taken so long to get where we are now.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRelatively early on, about 2004, it became apparent that this was a very significant way of treating many, many conditions. This was<\/p>\n\n\n\n

exciting but a double-edged sword as dyed-in-the-wool clinicians and vets couldn\u2019t accept that a tiny electric current could do that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI made a conscious decision early on to go slowly. If I\u2019d stood up and made all sorts of claims, I\u2019d have been attacked by other agencies, including pharmaceutical companies, and the technology could have been discredited very easily. I wasn\u2019t prepared to risk it as this is too important to be rushed, but now I\u2019ve built a wealth of anecdotal evidence so people will look at it carefully, with clinical trials.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to go through regulatory hoops, to get approval, for the human version. We\u2019ll have double- blind clinical trials, using it on people after knee replacements, trying to show that using it before and after the operation influences the return to normality. This could be so significant for the NHS.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been doing this for 13 years and it\u2019s cost me a fortune but I\u2019ve yet to take a penny from it. Yes, I\u2019d like to make money but that\u2019s not the driving force. That\u2019s to have acceptance of the Arc as a mainstream alternative to drug dependency and drug use.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re at a tipping point now, it\u2019s quite emotional and very exciting. I haven\u2019t a clue where it\u2019ll be this time next year \u2013 not a clue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MY VIEW: Physiotherapist Lena Pearson-Wood \u2018takes her hat off\u2019 to ArcEquine creator<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ANIMAL and human physiotherapist and livery yard owner Lena Pearson-Wood has been working with Ian since 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: \u201cIan arrived in my yard looking for somewhere to keep his broken horses and I was hugely cynical, especially as when the bandage came off the first horse, its fetlock hit the ground. \u201cSix weeks later, that horse jumped out of my stable yard over a wall at least five feet high and galloped around completely sound and I thought \u2018Oh. Maybe miracles happen\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the next one was similar. We started putting it on complete no-hope situations, humans and animals. You name it, ligaments, tendons, fractures, I can\u2019t think of a case where it\u2019s been used properly and hasn\u2019t worked. \u201cWhereas most ways of promoting healing do so by increasing circulation, this is a step away from that. We\u2019ve had horses treated for tendon injuries and they\u2019ve healed but also, their temperaments have improved, their feet have got better or their tails have really grown. \u201cI could go on and on, it\u2019s an astounding piece of kit. I take my hat off to Ian, he walks into the room and tells everyone about it, whether it\u2019s a professor or a local man with chronic pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s passionate about it and so am I.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, visit www.arcequine.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FROM THE ARCHIVES. Whilst having a clean up at the ARC Offices, we came across this article from 08\/04\/2015. We thought we would put it up as a blast from the past and to see how far we have come. The ArcEquine unit was this month chosen as one of the best 20 inventions and\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":774,"parent":0,"template":"","press-cat":[],"class_list":["post-773","press","type-press","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":776,"href":"https:\/\/arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/773\/revisions\/776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"press-cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcmicrotech.com\/arcequine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-cat?post=773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}