A purpose-built microcurrent device line for athletic recovery, sports injury rehabilitation, and elite performance. Developed by Vanessa Howe, MSPT — a national FSM instructor with two decades of clinical work across professional and Olympic sport. Available only through licensed practitioners.
What HoweRT Micro-Sport Is
The HoweRT Micro-Sport is a line of portable, FDA-cleared microcurrent electrical stimulation devices built specifically for athletic injury recovery and performance support. Each unit delivers what the manufacturer calls Resonance Programmed Microcurrent — current delivered at physiological levels (millionths of an ampere, below the threshold of sensation) with clinically-refined parameters for waveform, timing, polarization, and ramping.
The devices carry the same Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM) foundation used across professional FSM practice. What makes the Micro-Sport line distinct is the programming: every protocol was developed through more than two decades of physical therapy work with athletes at the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, and Olympic level, refined across more than 10,000 patients.
HoweRT Micro-Sport is a clinical tool, not a consumer product. There is no retail purchase pathway and no affiliate link. Devices are sold through licensed practitioners, and home use requires a practitioner prescription. This page exists so that patients, athletes, and clinicians can learn what the system does and — if it fits their situation — contact Max about access and referral.
About Vanessa Howe, MSPT
Vanessa Howe is a physical therapist and one of the foremost clinical authorities on microcurrent for athletic injury. She integrated Frequency Specific Microcurrent into her PT practice in 2005 and has since become a national FSM instructor and the chair of the annual international Microcurrent Conference. Her patient population spans professional football, basketball, baseball, hockey, Olympic gymnastics and soccer, and NCAA programs.
The programming libraries in every Micro-Sport device draw directly on her clinical work — which protocols reduce joint swelling fastest, which frequencies move bruising, which sequences support concussion recovery, which combinations help an athlete return to play without re-injury. These are not generic FSM protocols; they are sport-specific, performance-oriented applications refined in locker rooms and training rooms.
The devices themselves are manufactured by InspirStar, a specialized resonance-device manufacturer Programming is drawn from the published FSM frequency list maintained across the practitioner community — frequencies originally documented by Dr. Charles McWilliams in 1994, tracing back to Dr. Albert Abrams’ foundational work in the early 1900s.
How the Technology Works
Resonance programming
Every tissue in the body — nerve, fascia, tendon, bone, liver, brain — has a bioelectric and magnetic signature when it is functioning normally. The theoretical basis of Resonance Programmed Microcurrent is that applying a current whose frequency matches the healthy signature of a specific tissue creates resonance, which appears to shift that tissue back toward normal function. The programming on a Micro-Sport device controls four parameters at once: frequency pair (one channel for the condition, one for the tissue), waveform, timing/sequencing, and ramping. These parameters were refined clinically over two decades.
The mechanistic evidence — Cheng 1982
The foundational study behind all clinical microcurrent remains Ngok Cheng and colleagues’ 1982 work on rat skin. At microcurrent levels (microamperes, the same range Micro-Sport operates in), ATP production in the treated tissue increased by approximately 500%, and amino acid transport rose by 30 to 40 percent. The mechanistic implication — more cellular energy and more building blocks available to the cell — is the basis for why microcurrent is associated with faster soft-tissue recovery.
Why TENS is different
Cheng’s same study is instructive in the opposite direction. When current was raised into the milliampere range — where TENS units operate — ATP production fell, amino acid uptake dropped by 20 to 73 percent, and protein synthesis was inhibited by up to 50 percent. TENS works by blocking the perception of pain through loud neural firing; it does not support cellular repair. Microcurrent works at a fundamentally different physiological level.
Tier 2 — Emerging. The Cheng 1982 mechanism is well-established. Clinical outcome evidence for FSM-based microcurrent in specific sports injuries is growing but remains practitioner-observed and case-series level in many applications. Manufacturer-published outcomes and athlete testimonials are not substitutes for controlled trials. See the FSM page for a complete evidence review.
The Four Device Models
The Micro-Sport line currently includes four configurations. Each runs the same core Resonance Programmed Microcurrent engine; the difference is programming depth, session structure, and intended clinical context.
Elite recovery for the on-the-go athlete
The top-tier configuration, used by professional and Olympic athletes in locker rooms and training facilities. Advanced programming for injury recovery, joint and orthopedic support, and fast turnaround between games or events.
- Acute injury recovery
- Joint and orthopedic support
- Joint swelling and bruising
Powerful relief for everyday needs
Prescribed by a practitioner for use at home. Programming is broad-based and accessible — designed to be used without clinical training — covering chronic pain, recovery, and general wellness support.
- Chronic spine and nerve pain
- Arthritis and aging support
- General wellness (metabolic, skin)
- Illness support (sinus, stomach, viral)
Clinical power streamlined for practice
A clinic-only configuration designed for physical therapy, chiropractic, and pain management rehabilitation practices. Sessions are structured around a 30-minute format to align with practitioner workflows and billing. A specialized training-room variant adds sport-specific protocols (turf toe, stress reactions, acute concussion support, dislocations).
- General pain, CRPS, PHN
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Training-room sports injuries
Eastern medicine, enhanced for efficiency
A clinic-based configuration developed for Oriental Medicine and integrative care settings. Sessions run under 30 minutes and the programming adds meridian-based protocols, scar-tissue work, and triple warmer and pericardium pathway support — extending treatment potential within acupuncture, herbal, and energy-medicine frameworks.
- Meridian therapy
- Scar-tissue protocols
- Energetic system balancing
All four Micro-Sport devices are FDA-cleared microcurrent electrical stimulation units approved for pain use. They are sold to and through licensed practitioners. Home and personal use of any model requires a practitioner prescription. Programming and indications beyond FDA-cleared pain use fall within the practitioner’s clinical judgment.
Magnetic Converter — Adding PEMF Delivery
HoweRT produces a separate accessory called the Magnetic Converter that turns any Micro-Sport device into a 2-in-1 system, delivering the same Resonance Programmed Microcurrent protocols via a pulsed electromagnetic field instead of direct-contact current. It is a real product and worth knowing about in context.
That said, if your primary interest is PEMF delivery of frequency protocols — particularly for at-home use, overnight sessions, or broader systemic application — the Magnetic Converter is not necessarily the most accessible entry point. Dedicated PEMF devices at a substantially lower cost are more commonly the right starting place for most patients. See PEMF therapy for the mechanism, FSM via PEMF for how frequency pairs travel through a magnetic field, and iCare for a home-use example. HoweRT Micro-Sport itself is best understood as a direct-current microcurrent system; the PEMF conversion is an extension, not its primary identity.
Who This Is For
Physical therapists, chiropractors, athletic trainers, and sports medicine clinicians who want purpose-built FSM programming for athletic patient populations or training-room workflows. Max can orient you to the device line, the programming philosophy, and the Rehab-model clinical billing structure.
Professional, Olympic, or collegiate athletes already working with a clinician and looking for a portable, FDA-cleared microcurrent tool for on-the-road recovery. Access requires a prescribing practitioner; Max can help evaluate fit and refer as appropriate.
Recreational athletes and active adults with sport-related injuries or performance goals who want to understand what clinical tools exist and how to access them. Max can review whether HoweRT, or another modality is the right starting point for your situation.
Contraindications
HoweRT Micro-Sport follows the standard FSM contraindication list. These apply to every Micro-Sport model and to the Magnetic Converter PEMF accessory. Any home-use prescription must be preceded by clinical screening.
- Pacemakers or implanted electronic devices
- Pregnancy
- Active cancer
- Organ transplant
- Active infection (systemic or local)
- Insulin-dependent diabetes — do not treat over the pancreatic region
- Seizure history
- Cochlear implants or neural stimulators
- Uncontrolled atrial fibrillation
- Within 6 weeks of new injury (certain FSM protocols only)
Access Through Max
Because HoweRT Micro-Sport is a practitioner-pathway device, there is no direct-to-consumer purchase link on this site and no price listed. If you think one of the four Micro-Sport configurations may fit your clinical situation, athletic recovery needs, or practice, the next step is a conversation.
In that conversation Max can help determine whether HoweRT Micro-Sport is the right tool, or another modality is a better starting point, and — if HoweRT is the fit — walk you through the prescription and device pathway via the HoweRT practitioner network.
Contact Max to Learn More
HoweRT Micro-Sport access goes through a licensed practitioner. Max can help you evaluate whether it fits your clinical context, athletic recovery goals, or sports-medicine practice — and explain the prescription pathway if it does.
Contact Max- Cheng N, Van Hoof H, Bockx E, et al. The effects of electric currents on ATP generation, protein synthesis, and membrane transport of rat skin. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1982;(171):264-272. PMID: 7140077.
- HoweRT Micro-Sport. Product information and device specifications. micro-sport.com. Accessed April 2026: https://micro-sport.com/about-micro-sport/
- McWilliams C. Frequency-specific microcurrent — historical frequency list. 1994. Documented at frequencyspecific.com.
- Frequency Specific Microcurrent. Practitioner contraindication standards. frequencyspecific.com.
- Curtis D, Fallows S, Morris M, McMakin C. The efficacy of frequency specific microcurrent therapy on delayed onset muscle soreness. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2010;14(3):272-279. PMID: 20538226.