Meridian Stress Assessment (MSA)

The Meridian Stress Assessment (MSA) is a painless, non-invasive analysis using an FDA-approved measurement device to detect imbalances in your health. The MSA allows your physician to detect dysfunctions associated with symptoms you’ve been experiencing. The three main components of MSA testing are organ balancing, allergy testing and the efficacy of nutritional products, but the possibilities are endless.

The Meridian Stress Assessment (MSA) combines the traditions of Chinese Acupuncture with state of the art 21st century technology. After finding your particular area of weakness-stress, we can find the exact supplements and dosages needed to correct imbalances along your meridians. This translates directly into optimum health.

Meridian Stress Assessment analyzes acupuncture points on your skin associated with your major organ systems or meridians. The evaluation determines the stress that each organ meridian is under, along with specific natural remedies to bring them back into balance.

The MSA can be used as a primary or adjunctive method for determining allergenic sensitivities at a more refined level than traditional blood and scratch tests with a great efficiency of accuracy.

Here at the Holistic Care of Charleston, Dr. Gwinnup can order blood ELISA , SAGE or RAST allergy testing, but prefers the MSA. MSAHistory.pdf

History
MSA instruments (also referred to as Electro Dermal Screening-EDS or Electro Acupuncture according to Voll- EAV) have been used widely in Europe and around the world for over 50 years. Credit is given to Reinhold Voll, a German MD who, in the early 1950's, developed an electronic testing device for finding acupuncture points. He then began a lifelong search to identify the electrical resistance in acupuncture points and how the changes relate to disease states. Voll was successful, he found that patients with lung cancer had abnormal readings on the acupuncture point relating to the lung. Researchers from UCLA and USC have verified these results.

How it Works
MSA testing uses the Galvanic Skin Response (similar to lie detectors) to measure electrical resistance at various acupoints which represent the organs, glands and systems of the body (allowing your body to have a voice in your treatment protocol). This combination of Chinese Medicine and Western Technology allows us to conduct an interview with the body ~ identifying imbalances in the energy flow and offering natural alternatives to achieve optimal health. By using the body's energy field (Chi), at skin level of the predetermined acupuncture meridians, it is possible to analyze the energetic cause of physical problems.
MSA strength lies in its ability to combine multiple sources of patient information to assist in identifying the optimal protocol.

This process involves measuring electrical conductivity at responsive points (meridian points) on the skin – typically on the hands and feet. The locations of the test points generally correspond to those of acupuncture points. These measurements are automatically recorded to help provide a profile of a patient’s present condition.
According to European medical research, acupuncture points are related to the body’s organs and organ systems. Major groups of points are connected through channels, or meridians. Twenty of these meridians begin or end on the hands and feet. Why is MSA Testing Important?
Disease states are present in the body's electromagnetic field long before they manifest into disease. MSA testing allows you to see which systems have a low energy and which ones are under stress in order that you may act now to prevent weaknesses from developing to disease.