The Dolphin - A game changing technology to add to your preventative health toolbox

Today is Health and Tech Day during Preventative Health Awareness Month.

I'm am excited to share some education from a tech perspective of things that we can actually put into your hands to help empower you to have control over your own health when it comes to sleep, stress and overall health.

Let's kick off Health & Tech Day with this powerful invention called the Dolphin Neurostim or Micro-current Point Stimulation Therapy.

As a Registered Massage Therapist, I have taken extensive training over the past eight and a half years and have had the privilege of learning a lot from my mentor Kelly Armstrong who has been involved in the research associated with this device.

This has not only impacted hundreds of people that I've had the privilege of treating, but I've also been able to educate so many physicians about the power of this device.
So what is the Dolphin? The Dolphin is actually based on the principles of acupuncture (needle-less in this case) , which has been widely studied for a very long time. The principles of acupuncture and acupuncture points combined with micro-current, not like the current used in a TENS machine. Tens machines use alternating current, but the uniqueness of this device and what makes it so powerful is that uses direct current, which mimics the current in our body.

I love about this device as I can use it in my treatment room to treat you, but I can also put it into your hands to use at home. It is a Health Canada approved class two medical device and lots of extended insurance companies cover the purchase of it. This allows you to put this in your preventative health toolbox and treat yourself at home and positively impact on your nervous system on a daily basis.

The dolphin helps to down-regulate your autonomic nervous system and put you into a "rest and digest" state. It helps to reduce pain, increase circulation and impacts the stress response in the body.

The stress response is a very complex thing, but what is important to note is that it can impacts so many aspects of our health.
When we talk about pain, for example, and something like common headaches, one of the things I love about this device is that it comes with a protocol book that shows you, where to apply the current on the body and what polarity to put it on.

If you look on the back of the device, there are different polarities, negative, positive, and biphasic. I like to simplify things by teaching my patients an easy way to understand what polarity to use when treating themselves.

I suggest that when they want to reduce or take away something, for example; pain, inflammation, a fever or perhaps anxiety, put the device on negative and simply follow the protocol book.
However, when we want to stimulate or wake up the nervous system and we want to boost its functioning to support a person who has sustained a stroke, has Bell's Palsy or perhaps they have been sick and wants to boost their immunity, we would put the device on the positive polarity setting.

Then there is the biphasic setting and this is used when performing scar release therapy. To read more about scar release therapy with the dolphin , check out this link to the research related to Treatment of Chronic Post Surgical Pain Using Micro-current Point Stimulation Applied to C-Section Scars


The protocol book that comes with the device has a wide range of protocols for a bunch of common issues we all struggle with such as headaches, muscle cramps, sleep disturbances, menstrual pain and arthritis. However, there is also help for as less common conditions such as scoliosis, COPD and peripheral neuropathy.

As a Registered Massage Therapist, I am very aware of the power of the mind body connection. You'll of ten hear me say that the body is a house for our emotions and that over time the physical manifestation of emotional pain can create dis-ease.

As the founder of Wallis for Wellness, a multidisciplinary clinic that operated for 30 years, I had counsellors that worked with us as they too recognized that our body's are a house for our emotions and that treatment of both the mind and body is important.

We often manifest our emotions in our bodies and when we receive massage therapy treatment it can help to surface up all kinds of emotions. Conversely, when you see a counsellor for psychotherapy, this can also bring up physical pain in the body that needs to be addressed. It is amazing to watch a psychotherapist and counsellors use this technology as an effective tool to enhance the therapeutic outcomes that they get with their clients.

Other healthcare professionals including optometrists see the value in using this device to positively impact eye health. The dolphin is effective in his treating dry eye as well as other eye health issues.

I am honoured to be exploring the opportunity to do a study with Dr. Caroline Teske and a team of researchers at University of Waterloo to examine the impact that micro-current can have on amblyopia a.k.a. lazy eye.

So what looks like a simple little tool is powerful and can play a role in the health of all family your members.

Micro-current Point Stimulation Therapy can help children who struggle with anxiety. By performing a simple technique called the 'golden triangle", applying the dolphin to three acupuncture points that make a triangle at the wrist can help to calm the nervous system and reduce anxiety.

I've have had the opportunity to treat a 10 year old child who we got permission to bring it to school, so they could use it to calm their autonomic nervous system and enable them to function more optimally.

This device can also be used to support the health of seniors. My mother, who is 81, uses the dolphin for a wide range of things. In fact, places it on her coffee table where she can see it and picks it up to down-regulate her nervous system on a daily basis. She also uses it for reduce nasal congestion, reduce musculoskeletal pain and to support her lung and immune health.

Lastly , it is important to note that many extended health insurance companies are covering the dolphin.
If you would like more information about this device and how it may be an effective tool for you and your family, don't hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected] or visit my Marg's Must Haves page on my website or give me a call @647-577-4757 .