And much more so than a bunch of unsubstantiated claims for reduction of
joint pain by being shocked by a tesla coil (I have no idea where they
found that stuff, and had to struggle to keep my mouth shut during the
presentation... I was there to run the coil afterwards, not comment on
the presentation)
My neurologist told me there were studies being done regarding "subcutaneous electrical stimulation"
for pain relief. This was in November 2007, at the time Google only showed a couple of medical
abstracts which cost about $60 to download, and a "blurb" at WebMD that had a couple of paragraphs
explaining how it works. Since the site was revamped a couple of years ago, that link went dead, but
roughly it said:
"Subcutaneous electrical stimulation with pulsed RF currents is used to treat (mostly) back pain..."
"The Pulsed RF currents 'warm' the nerve causing it to shut down, sometimes for weeks or months,,,"
Too bad that page is no longer available, my memory could stand some stimulation.
Anyway, point is, a Google search for "subcutaneous electrical stimulation" today turns up many
abstracts, and one particularly interesting page:
http://www.healthline.com/natstandardcontent/alt-electroanalgesia
Note that this is describing TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation), a noninvasive
procedure.
Point being that though claims for reduction of joint pain by being shocked by a Tesla coil may be
unsubstantiated, it could be possible that in some cases, under some conditions, such a "treatment"
may well be effective.
And of course the web is just chock full of "anecdotal" accounts by individuals and all kinds of
"claims" (by quacks, mostly) of the "benefits" of various types of "electrotherapy", so no mystery
"where they found that stuff".
And although one is not likely to find any "real" doctor treating any kind of pain with a Tesla
coil, If a person were to make the claim that "it works for them" I would not be inclined to dismiss
their claim outright. There just might be something to it.