A 75-year-old woman from Berkshire has avoided a knee replacement operation after using a £300 device originally developed to treat racehorses. Christine Millbank, a former hairdresser, was diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee and told surgery was the only option, but she was reluctant to go under the knife.
Instead, she turned to the Arc4Health, a machine that delivers mild electrical currents to heal tissue and reduce pain. The device, about the size of a TV remote control, is worn in a Velcro cuff around the leg or arm for three hours a day over six weeks. Users feel nothing while it is on, but the imperceptible pulses are said to stimulate tissue repair and fight inflammation.
Christine said: 'Within six weeks the pain in my knee had gone down massively and a twinge of pain that had just started in the other knee went away completely. It was amazing.' She now uses the device just two or three times a year to keep the pain at bay.
Dr Clive Dewing, medical director of Arc4Health, explained that the electrical currents stimulate cells to produce ATP, which helps repair muscle and reduces inflammation and pain. However, some experts remain sceptical. Dr Franziska Denk, senior lecturer at King's College London, noted that only small trials exist and that there is no biological reason to believe the devices work for chronic conditions.
