Dr. Chan Gunn has been using a treatment called Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS) for the relief of chronic pain for 35 years. IMS can be thought of as an advanced form of acupuncture that requires a medical examination and diagnosis before treatment begins. He developed his treatment of IMS from his unique understanding of both Eastern and Western medicine. His early training included Chinese acupuncture as well as being trained in traditional Western medicine at Cambridge University in the U.K.

Like acupuncture, IMS uses small needles to target injured muscles, which have become shortened due to distress. When a healthy muscle is pricked with the needle there is only a minor sensation, but when a distressed muscle is pricked the muscle can be felt ‘grabbing’ the needle. When the distressed muscle grabs the needle there is a releasing action that in turn provides relief from pain.

Gunn believes that a broader acceptance of IMS by North American physicians could save billions of dollars annually as well as bring relief from chronic pain to countless sufferers. He believes that one reason IMS has not been more widely accepted by the medical community is that it does require an advanced skill level for successful administration.

What concerns Gunn is that his insight into chronic pain relief will be lost when he retires. Now 77, he spends most of his time teaching IMS. He teaches IMS therapy in Vancouver twice a year and leads annual seminars in Calgary, London, and Israel.

Practitioners of IMS believe that they have found a way to reduce the skill level required for administering IMS. They have patented an IMS process using a Teflon coated needle that supplies a micro-electrical stimulation to the distressed muscles.