Electrotherapy

Electrotherapy

Electrotherapy is the use of electrical energy as a physiotherapy treatment where healthcare professionals use treatments involving electrical impulses to influence the nervous system and muscle, affecting pain messages for pain management of different types of pain. Electrotherapy can be used as a stimulator for therapies relieving numbness, irritation, persistent acute pain and discomfort relieving musculoskeletal pains.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a commonly used non-pharmacologic and non-invasive treatment of Pain, TENS treatment involves the use of a mild electrical current with a frequency less than 10Hz to 150 Hz that reduces the pain felt from some conditions. They can be purchased online or from some Pharmacies for around £20-30 and used as a nerve stimulator for electrical muscle stimulation. This is one of the methods of pain relief for chronic back pain.

How does a TENS Machine Work?

A TENS device is a small, battery-operated device that has leads connected to sticky pads called electrodes. These electrode pads are attached directly to your skin and the tens machine works when switched on sends small electrical pulses to the nerves, spinal cord and brain which can relieve pain. The pain relief occurs from modulating the amount of pain signals the injured area sends to the brain and by activating the release of endorphins and other pain relief substances. The patient feels a small tingling sensation which should not be painful and most machines have different settings to allow you to choose one that suits you.

What Kind of Pain Does a TENS Unit Treat?

A TENS machine is not a cure for pain, and may only offer short term pain relief but a TENS machine is designed to treat many different kinds of pain ranging in short-term to long-term chronic ailments. Along with other Physiotherapy treatments, it can be an important part of your recovery as breaking the pain cycle can allow the stimulation of the healing process

Ultrasound

Ultrasound treatments have been used by physiotherapists since the 1940s using thermal and non-thermal effects. They have a mechanical effect on the tissues which can aid the healing process of soft tissue injuries. The settings allow your Physiotherapist to send the ultrasound waves to a specific depth and area size and the dose is altered accordingly to stage of healing ie acute or subacute phase

Your Physiotherapist will use ultrasound alongside other physiotherapy techniques to encourage tissue repair and regeneration.

How does an Ultrasound therapy Work?

Ultrasound therapy causes mechanical vibrations, from high-frequency sound waves, on skin and soft tissue via an aqueous medium. ultrasound is a safe treatment that has been used in physical therapy for many years. It provides heat to deep structures in the body, and it is thought that this heat helps improve that way that your body heals.

Microcurrent

Microcurrent therapy has an emerging body of evidence behind it to support its role in tissue healing. Similar to a TENS machine it is attached via small sticky electrodes, but it differs in the type of electrical stimulation it provides. It is a low-level electrical excitation of the tissues, encouraging a faster pacer of tissue healing, particularly inpatient who have 'lower battery power' where healing is taking longer. Some elite sports clubs are using this in their first aid and injury management programmes and are seeing good effects in the speed of return to sport. It is particularly helpful in long-standing tendon trouble such as Achilles tendonitis and tennis elbow, where together with a multi-modal Physiotherapy approach, the effects are impressive. Discuss with your Physiotherapist whether this is a treatment option for you.