Comfort your Horse with Sound Waves By Deborah Powell EQUINE MASSAGER TOOL FOR YOUR HORSE (and you too). The Qi Gong Machine is a professional grade massager that requires less than 10 minutes out of the box to become an expert user. It's hard to beat this instrument for fast pain relief, inflammation, and relaxing tight muscles. By far the best instruments I've ever used for fresh acute swellings. With only a on/off, timer, low, medium, and high selections to choose from, this is a "no brainer " unit to use.   WHAT IS THE QI GONG MACHINE? What makes this unit unique from ordinary massagers on the market is that the proven results have allowed it to be classified as a FDA approved therapeutic massager. Your horse can benefit by the same device used by professional massage therapists and chiropractors nationwide.   HOLDS THREE PATENTS IN CHINA. The technology was developed in China at the Chinese Research Institute, a government run facility studying the effects of healers called Qi Gong Masters (Pronounced Chee). Wanting to emulate this ability in a machine, the low frequency ( 8-14 Hz) infrasound machine was developed. The work earned three patents including design and utility in China. It is sold as a therapeutic medical device in China. Since it's development, slight upgrades have been made to the circuits using newer technology. It's presently sold in many countries around the world under many different labels.   WHAT IS INFRASONIC? The normal range of human hearing is from 20 hz to 20,000 Hz. Frequencies below 20 Hz are infrasonic, while those above 20,000 Hz are ultrasonic. The Qi Gong therapuetic massager operates in the 8-14 Hz range, Ultrasound machines operate at 800 kHz to 3 MHz.   HOW IS IT USED ON HORSES? The most dramatic effect is on a fresh swelling or edema. A perfect example of this was after my older gelding ( with a history of not responding well to injections) had his West Nile Vaccination. Within two hours he got very sick, sweaty, lethargic, and wouldn't eat. The shot was given midday, and by the following day he still was not eating and had developed a large hard swelling at the site of injection about two inches in diameter. He was miserable! I treated him with microcurrent that morning and he was more comfortable, but the swelling hadn't moved. That evening I tried the QI GONG MACHINE for about five minutes and literally watched as the swelling reduced to half. My horse was actually getting fidgety and hinting he wanted back in his stall. I turned him loose and watched as he headed back to his stall and dove into his hay. The next morning I treated again and finished reducing the swelling down to nothing and turned him out to pasture. He was back to normal.   Ever had a horse kicked in the chest with a resulting hematoma? Don't be surprised by how fast the swelling is reduced, usually with 2-3 treatments of 10-15 minutes. Or how about those difficult to treat swollen knees? Catch it fast and a couple of treatments should do it. Even if your nervous about trying this, go ahead and do what you would do traditionally and just add this as an additional treatment.   Most people report it as the favorite for tight muscles. It works perfectly for gliding over those hamstring muscles, for soothing sore withers and shoulders. Another nice treatment is to put the hand held sending unit over the croup area and let the sound waves spread from the Acupoint called; "Bai Hui" or "the place of 100 Meetings" in which all Yang meridians merge. (Re: Equine Acupressure by Nancy Zidonis). In fact, following along the meridian system is a very popular way of using the Qi Gong Machine. It is not an exact device for treating target points; See below.** But let's look at the benefits that can improve the physical and emotional health of the horse:    * Release endorphins necessary to reduce pain * Relieve muscle spasms * Resolve injuries more readily by removing toxins and increasing blood supply * Releases natural cortisone to reduce swelling The Qi Gong Machine allows you to utilize a simple to use tool, it does the work for you. I for one, do not have hands for doing traditional acupressure or massage work. I additionally like the fact that If the horse is extremely sore you can start treatment by just holding the transducer near the area. It is not mandatory to touch the site in order to give an effective treatment. This feature is very useful for a horse who is not ready to let you into his space. One example of a no-contact treatment is in the case of a painful abscess. Just hold near the foot for a few minutes to help disperse the build up of fluids. For a colicky horse, fresh tendon or suspensory ligament injury, or a horse that's just crashed into something........It's definitely become one of my favorite therapy tools. If you like to keep things simple, this should be your first therapy tool.    ** Here are two more specific tools supplied by Matrix for treating exact Acupoints in the Chinese Meridian System. 1. Probes ( Non Invasive surface electrical acupuncture tool) 2. Equiilux (Photon Light Device with center protruding light to touch points with). Back to Read All About It   Matrix Therapy Products Corp. Beavercreek, Oregon Tele: 888 764-5115