TMS Health Solutions Employing the Use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Traditional Chinese Medicine

Health 1 February, 2019

TMS Health Solutions was founded in 2007 in northern California and is a premier provider of TMS therapy. The organization aims to free its patients from the burden of mental illness and is transforming the way outpatient mental healthcare is operating by providing advanced and evidence-based treatments. At the helm of the organization is Dr. Richard Bermudes, who acts as the Chief Medical Officer, and who was the first to offer TMS therapy in the Sacramento area back in 2010.

TMS Health Solutions has a comprehensive approach to patients who are suffering from clinical depression, which sets them apart from other such medical professionals. Approximately 40% of adults who get diagnosed with the Major Depressive Disorder are not responding to medication and they end up developing treatment resistant depression. If depression doesn’t respond to medication, TMS Health Solutions enter the picture in order to try and tackle the illness’ symptoms.

TMS stands for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, and is an innovative therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration which is changing the way clinical depression gets tackled. It has been discovered that patients who suffer from depression have irregularities in the brain circuit functions, more specifically in the brain’s prefrontal cortex. That part of the brain is responsible with regulating moods and is underactive in people who are suffering from depression. TMS therapy is targeting those brain circuit irregularities by stimulating the areas of the brain electromagnetically. Despite the fact that certain medication that fights depression is producing the same effect chemically, TMS therapy stimulates those areas of the brain but with little side effects.

TMS therapy sessions can take 30 or 60 minutes, and due to the fact that it is non-invasive they do not require sedatives or anesthesia. Patients will feel a slight tingling during the therapy session on their scalp as neurons are being stimulated by electromagnetic pulses in the prefrontal cortex. The usual course takes 30 to 36 therapy sessions that span over 4 to 6 weeks. Treatment over the course of several weeks stimulates the existing neural circuits, and it also encourages the formation of new neural circuits, which in turn creates lasting relief from the disorder for many patients.

Patients who used this innovative therapy noticed, in some cases within one or two weeks after treatment, relief from depression’s symptoms. 85% of patients experienced success with this form of therapy within a year after starting treatment, and some patients reported that they are having more energy, are feeling more focused, and also that they are sleeping better after treatment.

TMS Health Solutions is also looking for remedies against clinical depression in other areas. Despite the fact that there is no substitute for treatment which is evidence-based, the organization also opts to take a holistic approach and are incorporating various alternative treatments in order to suit the needs of the patients. One of the places the organization is looking is Traditional Chinese Medicines, which includes manual therapies such as tai chi, yoga, meditation, and acupuncture, as well as nutritional supplements, healthy diet, vitamins, teas, and medicinal herbs.

Tai Chi is an exercise designed for mind and body in China that dates back to the 1500s. It combines elements of martial arts and meditation, and it promotes inner peace and balance. Acupuncture is also a form of traditional Chinese medicine, with practitioners seeing the body as being interconnected, thus acupuncture helping relieve blocked energy. As far as Chinese Herbal Medicine is concerned, the Materia Medica book is used by many practitioners, and it describes the various medicinal substances, such as minerals, plants, as well as animal products. Herbal remedies are preferred by those who experience adverse reaction or side effects to anti-depressants.