In general, frequency-specific microcurrent treatment is gentle and painless. The currents used in FSM are so low that you may not even feel them. During FSM treatment, you might feel a warmth and softening of the affected tissues.

Microcurrent is safe for use by most individuals. Do not use Microcurrent if (1) you have a pacemaker or other electronically powered implanted device (unless it can be turned off during treatment); (2) you have received an organ transplant; (3) you actively have cancer; (4) you are pregnant or possibly pregnant. Other conditions which require caution or some adjustments to usage include: open wounds; autoimmune disorders; and cardiac arrhythmias. If you have any of these conditions, only use protocols and apply to connection locations approved by your healthcare provider. Avoid submerged conduction methods unless specifically approved by your healthcare provider.

For anything that will be recommended by our clinic, no. There are a few pairings that could be used where you need to watch how much they are run, but those are for conditions outside of the scope of this clinic. Generally speaking, if you're running a current, and the body can no longer get benefit from the current, then there will simply be no effect. Your greatest risk will be wasting time. A good rule of thumb is: if you're still feeling benefits from it, your body still needs it, so keep running it.

Microcurrent is approved in the category of TENS devices by the FDA. For this reason, Microcurrent is approved to treat symptomatic relief of pain, and any contraindications listed for TENS units are recommended for Microcurrent usage.

According to Dr. McMakin, "Practitioners are taught [...] that FSM should not be used on patients known to be pregnant. TENS devices are not to be used to run current through a pregnant uterus but FSM carries and additional self-imposed recommendation that FSM not be used once a woman is known to be pregnant. No problems have ever been observed in a patient treated who was found later to have been pregnant at the time of treatment so the recommendation is based on prudence rather than negative experience. The dramatic reductions in cytokines and prostaglandins seen with use of certain frequencies may have an unpredictable effect on the prostaglandins required to maintain a pregnancy. The dramatic order of magnitude changes in neuropeptides seen in the treatment of fibromyalgia from spine trauma may have an unintended effect on a developing fetal nervous system once the fetal nervous system is developed beyond 8 weeks, the time at which most women know they are pregnant."

TENS devices deliver milliamp current and block pain messages that are tying to get up the spine to the brain. Microcurrent delivers subsensory microamperage current, 1000 times less than milli-amperage current, which has been shown in published studies to increase ATP production in tissues.