I actually don't understand the generic term "microcurrent." The amount of current is just one aspect of the waveform. Nobody would take a pill just because of the dosage! It is the chemical composition of a drug that is important. Likewise it is the waveform of a device. When using ordinary TENS it does not matter so much because that is merely the use of electricity as an overriding force, often referred to as "counter-irritation analgesia." So a cheap TENS sometimes works. But Alpha-Stim is a catalyst that tends to normalize the nervous system, especially the brain, and as such you would be buying our proprietray waveform and the 3 decades of research behind it and the support we offer based on our expertise. Not to mention our 5-year warranty. And another important point is that none of the cheap devices are FDA registered for CES. The manufacturers (in Taiwan probably) have no clue what they are making because they pretty much just had an engineer take the step up transformer out of the TENS devices they copied from others years ago. And you certainly can't ask them any clinical support type questions. The quality of cheap devices is questionable of course -- would you rather listen to a high end CD like a Bose or an old bottom of the line FM radio that provides mostly static? Keep in mind that such "static" is entering your brain directly and can do more harm than good which is why TENS is contraindicated for use on the head and neck. We have won several lawsuits aginst people attempting to copy our technology and one made their knock-off so cheaply it cost them less to make the whole device than our accessories cost us to make. They cut so many corners to get the price down that what was left could have been very harmful if left on the market. Lastly we have perfected protocols for treatment that others can not emulate. We only provide support for Alpha-Stim customers. Save money on something other than medical devices. Alpha-Stim is a bargin at the prices we charge for the results you will see, the support you will have and the peace of mind you will have knowing it is a quality device supported by more research than any therapeutic device worldwide. We hear all the time that people threw their money away on a cheap device before trying ours and finding out it works.
I am not knowledgable enough about cold lasers to comment except that they do not penetrate deep enough to use for anything other than superficial problems and perhaps reflex points, like acupuncture. Electricity can easily be transmitted from the top of your head to the bottom of your foot (although that would not direct the current where we need it to go). Don't trust hype, read the research. Having said that I too have seen and heard good things about them and I believe they have their place in rehab. But physiology is mainly an electrochemical process and those two things (electricity and chemicals) are therefore the most obvious, direct interventions.