Electrotherapy, Electrical Muscle Stimulation, Tens Unit, Ultrasound Therapy, Pain Management, Diathermy

What is Electrotherapy?

Applying gentle electrical impulses to the body in an assortment of ways and means, electrotherapy is an innovative medical treatment practiced and recommended by a host of healthcare professionals around the world. While the broad definition of electrotherapy can include more involved medical treatments such as laser therapy or deep brain stimulation for neurological disease, this term most often applies to specific electrotherapy devices that are used for outpatient or rehabilitative care, or for devices that can be used by the patient at home.

The most commonly utilized electrotherapy devices include configurations to perform therapeutic ultrasound, diathermy, interferential therapy (IF), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). Each unique electrotherapy device encourages healing in a specified way, with commonalities that include advanced healing and repair, enhanced circulation, faster and more effective pain mitigation, better range of motion and an increase in muscle strength and tone.

Who can benefit from Electrotherapy?

Most of us can benefit from electrotherapy treatment at various times in our lives. Just about any acute or chronic injury you incur that causes pain, swelling and inflammation will respond favorably to various electrotherapy approaches. This innovative therapy can help speed healing after surgery, while it can also greatly lessen the need for pharmaceutical or OTC painkillers.

Dependent upon the specific electrotherapy device applied, other benefits of electrotherapy can include contracture management, muscle spasm relaxation, strength and balance enhancement, re-education of the neuromuscular system, edema reduction, muscle atrophy retardation and healthy bone formation (osteogenesis).

A wide range of diseases, serious injuries and chronic health conditions also respond affirmatively to electrotherapy approaches. These include paralysis, venous thrombosis, spinal cord injuries, nerve damage, stroke, cerebral palsy, upper motor neuron disorders, dysphagia, scoliosis, foot drop, COPD, arthritis, fibromyalgia, neuralgia, myositis, bursitis, tendinitis and tenosynovitis.

What are the different modalities of Electrotherapy?

Electrotherapy devices are employed for a multitude of medical and therapy applications that encompass injury prevention, rehabilitation, healing, pain relief, sports and athletic training, and diagnostics and testing. The main modalities of therapeutic electrotherapy are comprised of ultrasound therapy, diathermy, NMES (neuromuscular electrical stimulation), TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) and IF (interferential therapy).

Therapeutic Ultrasound Electrotherapy

Using high frequency sound waves to promote circulation to the affected area, ultrasound therapy offers the healing benefits of both non-thermal and thermal effects. Non-thermal ultrasound uses the inherent expansion and contraction of gas bubbles present in the affected tissue to alleviate pain and inflammation, while thermal ultrasound uses warmth to promote healing and repair.

Many therapeutic ultrasound devices combine ultrasound therapy with electrical stimulation to achieve more efficient and maximized healing benefits.

Diathermy

Often incorporated into healing programs for joint problems such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, diathermy implements varying degrees of high-frequency electrical currents to generate deep heat in affected body tissues. Heating inner body areas as deep as 2 inches from the surface of the skin, diathermy devices use microwave, shortwave or ultrasound waves to target inflamed bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Diathermy aids in increasing range of motion and flexibility while it also helps to assuage pain, spasms and inflammation. While it offers numerous musculoskeletal benefits, this therapy is additionally used to treat discomfort caused from extremely painful conditions like kidney stones and advanced sinusitis. In surgical applications, diathermy is often appropriated to cauterize or seal blood vessels and to remove abnormal growths and tumors as this method reduces the risk of blood loss and shortens the recovery time.

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)

Also referred to as electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) employs specified electrical impulses to the body via various NMES devices and electrodes. These electrical impulses imitate the central nervous system, contracting the muscles. The specified action of these NMES devices helps to relax both acute and chronic muscle spasms, ablate pain, re-educate muscles and bring back muscle memory.

NMES therapies are showing great promise for those with serious spinal cord injuries, paralysis and nerve damage, while they are also being utilized for spasticity and voluntary motor control issues like those that occur with cerebral palsy, stroke and various upper motor neuron challenges. NMES is additionally being included in COPD treatment plans, as it can aid in the improvement of muscle strength and endurance, heighten exercise tolerance and even reduce dyspnoea/breathlessness, all of which lead to improved ambulation and overall function.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

While transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is similar to NMES in the way it utilizes specific medical devices to transfer the electrical current to the body through the use of electrodes, it differs from NMES in that it is designed to stimulate the nerves, not the muscles.

TENS units typically moderate the electrical pulse’s intensity, width and frequency in order to suit the individual and unique needs of each user. They typically work by disrupting the pain signal transmission to the brain, distracting the nerve pathway communication so that feelings of pain can be abated, offering much relief to chronic pain sufferers.

TENS therapies are among the most widely used electrotherapy approaches, as the small TENS units can be used and worn by patients at home and wherever else they may roam. Just like other electrotherapy practices, TENS therapy offers a non-invasive, drug-free and safe methodology to effectively treat chronic and acute pain from injuries, surgery and diseases and conditions such as arthritis.

Interferential Electrotherapy (IF)

Interferential therapy (IF) involves the delivery of therapeutic electrical frequencies to body tissues. While this process works the same way as TENS, IF is a more complex system offering even greater efficiency in the delivery of therapeutic frequencies. IF utilizes higher frequencies, usually in a range between 1000 Hz and 4000 Hz, while TENS typically use 2 Hz to 150 Hz. Higher frequencies translate to quicker, easier tissue travel, resulting in deeper and further impacts, and less discomfort for the patient.

IF is named specifically for the action of the currents used. IF employs two or more currents, with one current at a fixed, higher frequency, and the other at a lower, varying frequency. The interference caused between the two currents at its point of intersection between the electrodes delivers an increased dosage of therapy that is more efficiently tolerated by the body. Four electrode interferential therapy delivers even better reception for the body, leading to enhanced pain relief more quickly.

Because it is so highly effective for deeper body problems, IF is often appropriated for deep structure stimulation, deep pain relief, encouragement of healthy bone formation, cumulative trauma disorders and the depression of some lumbosacral and cervical sympathetic ganglia activity in patients with increased arterial constrictor tone.

Rehabmart is pleased to extend a comprehensive selection of electrotherapy devices to our customers from superior quality manufacturers that include Chattanooga, Drive Medical, ProMed Specialties, Independence Medical, and Mettler Electronics.

Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Co-Founder & CEO

ck