Electricity has been used to treat pain for over 100 years. Early proponents of electricity were labelled as charlatans, but recent scientific studies have proven that electricity can reduce both acute and chronic pain.
Electrotherapy is the treatment of certain human ailments via the application of electrical currents to the body.
The fact that electrical currents can effect human physiology is well known. The earliest observations of this date back to the pioneering work of Galvani, Volta, and others, and forms the basis for the field of electro physiology.
Electrotherapy is used as an adjunct to other modalities such as joint mobilisation, stretching and exercise rehabilitation.
Modalities such as ultrasound and laser are used to treat musculoskeletal disorders. I also use TENS and Laser in the treatment of pain.
Ultrasound is used to control swelling and pain and low frequency interrupted currents are useful for stimulating and re-educating weak muscles.
Interferential is a type of stimulation characterized by the crossing of two electrical medium, independent frequencies that work together to effectively stimulate large impulse fibres. These frequencies interfere with the transmission of pain messages at the spinal cord level. Because of the frequency, the Interferential wave meets low impedance when crossing the skin to enter the underlying tissue. This deep tissue penetration can be adjusted to stimulate parasympathetic nerve fibres for increased blood flow. Interferential Stimulation differs from TENS because it allows a deeper penetration of the tissue with more comfort and increased circulation.