TENS
devices use a two-pronged approach to pain relief. First, they target
your sensory nerves, stimulating them to block pain signals and prevent
their transmission to the brain. Second, TENS promotes production of
endorphins, the body's natural pain reducing substances. Because of its
effectiveness, TENS therapy is used to treat back and cervical muscular
and disc syndromes, RSD, arthritis, shoulder syndromes, neuropathies
and other painful conditions.
Interferential therapy devices use two separate electrical frequencies that work together to stimulate large impulse nerve fibers — ones that "close the gate." Their frequencies interfere with the transmission of pain messages at the spinal cord level, and help block their transmission to the brain. Obviously, the fewer pain messages that make it through, the less it hurts.
Interferential devices consist of a medium frequency "carrier" waveform, usually 4KHz coupled with a second carrier waveform that ajusts between 4.1-4.2KHz, and are designed to break through areas of high electrical impedance into structures that have low vascularity, such as most joints in the body, delivering a "beat frequency" of 1-200Hz into the structure to create a TENS-like effect.
An injured muscle usually experiences little — if any — movement. NMES therapy remedies this by using low-voltages to stimulate motor nerves to cause involuntary muscular contractions.
Like exercise, NMES helps to strengthen the injured area and has been found to effectively treat a variety of musculoskeletal and vascular conditions. Common candidates for NMS therapy are patients recovering from orthopedic surgery, muscle strains or tears, or athletes who’ve undergone cartilage or tendon repair.
High Volt Pulsed Current (HVPC) Injured tissues are often surrounded by an excess of fluid, which prevents nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood from reaching them. HVPC devices remove excess fluid and increase blood flow to the injured site to encourage rehabilitation.
Fluid (swelling) is primarily composed of negatively charged proteins. Placing a positive electrode over the injured site within the first 24-48 hours helps prevent the buildup of excess fluid. Placing a negative electrode over the injured site after the first day or two causes the fluid to disperse from the site. This treatment reduces swelling, allowing new blood to move in and speeding up the recovery process.
Excessive fluid buildup, known as edema, is detrimental to any healing process. Not only does it cause swelling around the injured area, but it also prevents removal of waste products and hinders circulation. Electrotherapy uses Interferential, NMS, and high or low voltage pulsed direct current devices to move excess fluid from injured areas.
What is Microcurrent? Where TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) is used for the relief of pain, Microcurrent, because of its close proximity to our own body's current, is thought to work on a more cellular level.
It is theorized that healthy tissue is the result of direct flow of electrical current throughout our body. Electrical balance is disrupted when the body is injured at a particular site, causing the electrical current to change course. The use of Microcurrent over the injured site is thought to realign this flow, thus aid in tissue repair.
It has been found that ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) in the cell helps promote protein synthesis and healing. The lack of ATP due to trauma of the tissue results in the decreased production of sodium and an increase in metabolic wastes, which is perceived as pain. The use of Microcurrent at an injured area helps realign the body's electrical current, increase the production of ATP, resulting in increased healing and recovery, as well as blocking the pain that is perceived.
NOTE that patients will NOT FEEL MICROCURRENT because the current is so small.
