There was once a time when if you injured yourself - be it
by accident or by marauding band of Scottish warriors - you got yourself to the
doctor (both normal or witch) and he or she treated you with a pill. Or a
leech. Those days are gone it seems, as medicine is now handled by gadgetry and
technology – namely the HoMedics iheal.
This little bundle of medicinal magic sends pulsing magnetic energy waves deep into the body’s tissue and bone using low power electromagnetic fields. Apparently, this actively reduces the healing time of soft tissue injuries and speeds up recovery. Sounds pretty amazing and certainly preferable to having a leech bleeding you dry.
About the size of a wrist watch (and it does come complete
with removable strap) the iheal is designed to be placed on the injured body
part, in contact with the skin, and send pulses of magical healing over
prolonged periods. The primary intended use is for healing repetitive strain
injuries, arthritic inflammation and sports tendon injuries. But… does it
actually work?
Fortunately (well, maybe not fortunately) one of us here at
The Test Pit has recently suffered from a sprained ankle, after doing something
terribly heroic and YouTube worthy. If you consider reaching for a blanket late
at night YouTube worthy. Although the doctor has checked the ankle and
recommended six weeks of keeping off of it and generally being careful, the
clumsy reviewer decided to go jogging just two weeks later. It was not pretty.
And so, with iheal conveniently strapped to throbbing ankle, the hapless idiot
sat about a bit and reported on the results.
There is absolutely no sensation when wearing the iheal –
apart from the presence of the gadget itself. It does not vibrate or make any
sound that you might expect; it just hangs there, tiny LED light flashing
inconspicuously. On the back of the device is a small metal connector which
must be in contact with the skin. This we found slightly uncomfortable,
particularly if placed on a part of the body that is constantly moving.
Although it is very small, protruding just a few millimetres from the iheal, it
still occasionally dug in a bit and made us aware of the things presence.
Still, after a few hours we became largely used to it.
The inclusion of the strap is a genius move, allowing you to
put the iheal almost anywhere on an arm or leg. If your injury is elsewhere,
such as your back or bum (tee hee) the device also comes with self-adhesive
strips which let the iheal stay firmly in place. Just watch where you put the
sticky pad – we’re talking about hairs people!
So, after almost an entire week of wearing, how is the ankle?
To be honest, pretty good. The injury seems to have healed quite a bit quicker
than the doctor originally predicted, with the foolish reviewer feeling pretty
good about getting up and about. How much of this is the placebo effect of
knowing you are wearing something apparently helpful, we can’t be sure. But,
regardless, the moron is back to reaching for blankets at night. Rock on!
Around £49.99
Visit www.homedics.co.uk