Electrotherapy in Physiotherapy Treatments
Electricity has been used to treat pain for over 100 years. Early proponents of electricity were labeled as charlatans, but recent scientific studies have proven that electricity can reduce both acute and chronic pain.
The exact mechanism of electrical stimulation’s beneficial effect remains controversial. Electrical stimulation may directly block transmission of pain signals along nerves. In addition, electrical stimulation has been shown to promote the release of endorphins, which are natural painkillers produced by the body.
Background To Electrotherapy
Ever get caught out by the electric fence as a child? You may recall the sensation of that sudden shock or maybe the feeling after of pins and needles?….well scale it down somewhat and it’s not completely dissimilar to a type of treatment available at The Physio Company in managing pain and promoting tissue healing, and believe it or not, it has been around quite some time…Electrical stimulation for pain control was used in ancient Rome, 63 A.D. It was reported by Scribonius Largus that pain was relieved by standing on an electrical fish at the seashore. From the 16th to 18th centuries various electrostatic devices were used for headaches and other pains, even Benjamin Franklin was a supporter of this method for pain relief.
Electrotherapy uses electrical signals to interfere with the transmission of neural pain signals into the brain. It effectively slows down or distracts the message from the nerve to the brain. From a physiotherapy point of view, affecting one’s ‘Pain Gate’, whether in an acute or chronic pain episode, is crucial area of treatment and electrotherapy is a very useful resource where conventional medicines are not as affective. Electrotherapy can also involve the use of this electric current to speed tissue healing where tissue damage has also occurred. I’m going to discuss two different forms of it today, TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) and Interferential therapy.
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
TENS is widely used around the world for a variety of painful conditions such as;
Arthritis
Low back pain
Labour pain
Nerve related pain such as phantom pain
How Does It Work?
A small electrical device (think back to the days of the Walkman!) delivers electrical impulses across the skin. Lightweight versions not much bigger than a credit card are available these days. This can be clipped to your jeans or placed in your pocket.The device is connected by wires to sticky pad electrodes, which are placed on the skin in the area of the pain. This allows a small, low-intensity electric charge to be passed across the area.