ELECTROTHERAPY

Introduction

If you are suffering from pain anywhere in your musculoskeletal system? Then  electrotherapy physiotherapy is clearly an option worth considering. 

Electrotherapy is a treatment that directs mild electric pulses to the target area and helps you to recover. 

Electro stimulation is an instant relief and that’s why your physiotherapist might attend to this mode of treatment alongside many others like joint mobilisation, stretching, physiotherapy exercises etcetera. 

Electrotherapy is not only useful for reducing  pain levels in large but also strengthening your muscles, repairing tissues, improves blood circulation in the body and also promotes bone growth. 

This device of Electric stimulation can be  applied to bones, muscles or tendons alike thereby treating injuries, promoting healing and offering pain relief.

In London, if you are looking for a clinic that will provide you safe and smooth  treatment for your musculoskeletal pain issues, then you can contact us anytime! 

What is electrotherapy?

What is electrotherapy?

Electrotherapy is a gentle and non-invasive modality that works by stimulating nerves and muscles through the surface of the skin.

Electrotherapy units are typically made up of a battery-powered gadget with cables connecting it to adhesive electrode pads that are applied to the skin. Because the electrode pads are sticky, they will stick to your skin. A modest electric current is given to the skin via the electrode once the electrodes are attached and the unit is turned on. 

A powerful tool used by many physiotherapists, electrotherapy treats chronic pain, musculoskeletal injuries, muscle wasting, and nerve pain by using targeted and controlled electrical stimulation. 

How does electrotherapy work?

Having looked at what electrotherapy actually is? It is time to determine how does it work?

Electrotherapy interferes with the passage of neural pain signals into the brain by using electrical signals. It effectively inhibits or diverts the transmission of information from the nerve to the brain. A tiny electrical device is used to send electrical impulses over the skin in this approach. Wires link the gadget to a sticky pad or carbon electrodes that are placed on the skin in the pain location. 

A modest, low-intensity electric charge can be transferred throughout the space as a result of this. When tissue injury has occurred, electrotherapy can also involve the application of electric current to hasten tissue repair. Electrotherapy is a non-surgical, safe, and effective treatment.

Electrotherapy is said to work in a number of ways since it depends on the device that is being used by the physiotherapist and also there are a range of treatments offered by physiotherapy:

1. Electrical signals are passed to interfere with the body’s neural signal pathway to reduce the pain. The catch is nerves are responsible for receiving the pain stimulus. 
2. Stimulates muscle tissue to contract to reduce atrophy.
3. Endorphins are released which are the inhibitors of pain in large.
4. Inflammation is reduced by stimulating the cells in that target area, which in turn promotes collagen production and inhibits pain. 
5. It improves circulation which inturn helps the healing process to hasten up. 

Electrotherapy treatment types

Electrotherapy is a broad term, under its umbrella there comes a number of treatment methods that involve its principle of electrical stimulation applied to the affected area. 

In some forms the electrode pads are attached to the skin. The pads are attached to a battery powered device via wires, which is then responsible for transmitting the electrical signals into your body. 

While in other forms, a sort of transducer gel will be applied to your body in order to permit the waves to pass through it. 

Following are the range of methods from which the physiotherapist might opt for considering your situation:

• Therapeutic Ultrasound 

Therapeutic ultrasound machine is used to reduce pain and relieve muscle aches and injuries in physiotherapy. Physio ultrasound has a deep heating effect on tissues like muscles, tendons and ligaments. It both stimulates blood circulation as well as heightens the healing process. 

To know more about physiotherapy ultrasound, it is important to know first what ultrasound and sound energy is in general. Mechanical vibration at increasing frequencies is known as sound energy. The mechanical vibrations beyond the human’s normal sound range (20 hz to 20000 hz) is known as ultrasound wave. 

It makes the use of a transducer gel  applied to the skin instead of  electrode pads. The sound waves pass through the skin causing the tissues in the affected area to vibrate. Ultrasound pain relief helps mostly with-strains, tendonitis and knee meniscus tears.  It also helps in the breakdown of the scar tissues thus helping to speed up the recovery. 

• Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (Tens) 

It is the most common of the electrotherapy treatments. Tens therapy is the most safe method that is used in the clinic and can be used at home as well. Tens treatment makes use of the small device that delivers electrical impulses to the target area. 

It works on the principle of entirely blocking the pain signals carried by nerves to the brain. It also helps in releasing our natural pain relieving hormones called endorphins. It is often used for both nerve pain and chronic pain conditions.

TENS is most often delivered by tiny, battery-operated hand-held devices. In many (but not all) regions, they can be obtained ‘over the counter.’ They may need to be ‘prescribed’ by a therapist, doctor, or other healthcare professional in some areas.

It is non-invasive but it does have some repercussions. Tens machine side effects have the most common of them all an allergic reaction to the skin and this is by large due to the material of the electrodes that irritates the skin. The conductive gel or tape employed to the skin to hold electrodes in place might also invoke the allergic reaction. These can also cause infection in the body in general, however, advancements have been made in this regard. 

• Shockwave Therapy

In shockwave therapy acoustic waves are directed at the target area and the transducer  gel like therapeutic ultrasound is applied to the skin. It then helps to stimulate collagen production, release painful trigger points and reduce inflammation in the body. 

It is mostly very helpful in eradicating issues related to the musculoskeletal system like plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, and Achilles tendinopathy

To know more about shockwave therapy have a look at our complete guide on  shockwave therapy

• Compex (Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)

Any injury or suffering from any sort of disease can make your muscles weak and cause them to start wearing away (atrophy). In that case some artificial way of activating muscles must be the need of the hour. 

In that case Compex might prove really helpful since it mimics the brain function for the muscles to reactivate them and let them gain strength without causing pain to injury or arthritis. It can help:

1. Increase muscle volume and strength. 
2. Relieve muscle pain. 
3. Reduce swelling. 
4. Enhance muscle recruitment

It helps send signals to the brain and the muscles start to work accordingly. 

• Electro Acupuncture

Acupuncture basically makes use of thin needles that are inserted at specific points which target different organs or body systems. Electro Acupuncture works on the same phenomena except it uses 2 needles and an electric current that passes between them. The frequency and intensity of the current depends on the severity of the problem. It mostly treats the side effects of chemotherapy or for patients with complaints of acute pain. 

• Interferential

It is also known as interferential therapy or IFT. It stimulates muscles, increases blood flow, and reduces pain by using low-frequency electrical stimulation. Patients who detest the sensation of TENS electrotherapy may benefit from IFT.

• Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS)

EMS, electrical muscle stimulation, is a type of electrotherapy that targets muscular tissue rather than nerves. This type of electrotherapy activates the motor neurons in your brain, causing your muscles to contract. This is commonly used to treat and prevent muscle atropine.

Benefits of Electrotherapy in Physiotherapy 

Electrotherapy will have different applications for different people depending on their severity or conditions. Also your physiotherapist might suggest what method to choose from or the method that suits you best amongst those that are mentioned above. The most common benefits you can have from any of the methods above are given below:

• Reduces body pain

Mostly electrotherapy’s main goal is to reduce body pain. This electronic pain relief in today’s modern world is achieved via a number of ways either by ultrasound or shockwave therapy. No matter which method is applied the basic aim behind is to reduce the pain in that specific area all of which is non surgical and patient friendly. 

• Alleviates nerve pain

Nerve pain is usually characterised by numbness, tingling, burning, muscle weakness and general pain in the areas connected to those neural endings. The condition is usually called neuralgia. The causes for the nerve pain are different and may vary.

These nerves carry the pain signals to the brain. In that case the physiotherapist might use a TENS machine to target and reduce nerve pain either by interfering or confusing pain signals carried by nerves. In this way electrotherapy alleviates the nerve pain. 

• Accelerates healing of musculoskeletal injuries

As we have already discussed in detail what musculoskeletal injuries are, they can be best treated with electrotherapy and specially the shockwave therapy which is also covered previously. Click on the link to check out. Shockwave therapy is highly effective when it comes to musculoskeletal injuries because it increases the blood flow to the target area which is analogous to the healing process. Thus in this way it reduces pain. Shockwave therapy is very useful in:

• Plantar fasciitis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Tennis elbow
• Jumper’s knee
• Shoulder pain and injuries
• Sports injuries and sprains

• Increases blood circulation in the body

Blood is the most vital component of human life and it has a number of different aspects to it. It contains red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, nutrients and different proteins. Along with all that it has specific binding agents that clogs the scars or wounds when cut open. Thus, it helps in the healing process. Hence the circulation of oxygenated blood is really important. Healthy circulation also helps remove all the toxins from the body and acts as a detoxifying agent. Hence, electrotherapy enhances blood flow in the body. 

• Heals wounds

Wound healing is also related  to blood circulation. Electrotherapy can significantly increase the blood flow in the body which in turn boosts the healing process. Thus, wounds are healed easily with electrotherapy which is why it is the most go to option for physiotherapists. 

• Relaxes muscle spasms

Muscle spasm basically occurs due to heavy burdening activity, lifting  loads, calcium and vitamin D deficiency or due to any harsh blows received lately. Muscle spasm is often very uncomfortable for a working body thus with the help of electrotherapy you can easily get rid of it. The uncontrollable contraction of the muscles are brought back to their normal states and hence, the body is brought back to normal. 

•  Drug free pain control

Electrotherapy is a non-addictive, non-toxic, and safe technique to manage chronic pain. Whether you have chronic neck or back pain, you are aware that these illnesses can make it difficult to conduct daily activities and lower your quality of life.

Though pain-relieving medicine is occasionally necessary, electrotherapy for pain reduction is a potent alternative that avoids the risks associated with the use of habit-forming pharmaceuticals. 

• Have minimal to no side effects 

This method is usually more popular because it has  relatively fewer side effects especially when you don’t get any infections after treatment as in the case of  surgeries. The only side effect is in the use of the adhesive tapes used in tucking the electrode pads into skin, which can cause a rash or any sort of allergic reaction invoked on the site. It is pain free and has no  long lasting side effects as it deals with the outside of the body. 

• Muscle atrophy is healed

Muscle Atrophy means wasting  away or wearing away of muscles due to illness, injury or nerve damage. It causes a person unable to move since the bones are carried by the flesh which  makes it a combined effort for both to work. The quality of life you are living is highly affected by it because of the pain and stiffness in the muscles. 

One of the treatment methods of electrotherapy is dedicated to treating muscles i.e electrical muscle stimulation (ems). It helps in stimulation of muscles thus restoring them to function normally. If the pain supersedes then the physiotherapist might also employ a TENS machine to reduce the pain. 

• Non invasive treatment

Furthermore, electrotherapy is a non-invasive method of treating chronic pain and promoting tissue repair. In some circumstances, electrotherapy might eliminate the need for invasive procedures such as surgery. Thus, it is a patient friendly technique. It has to do with the skin of the body and hence no incisions or cuts are pervaded on patients part which is why this makes it the most popular technique used. 

How can you book an appointment?

We aim to see you within 24 hours so contact us to make an appointment or to find out more information on how we can help you, please call us on 07515280990 or email us primephysiocareluton@gmail.com. We are one of the best clinics whose physios are registered with HCPC, CSP and Physio first as well have enormous experience.

Most commonly asked question:

What is electrotherapy used for?

It is used to reduce pain, repair tissues, induce healing, strengthen muscles, promote bone growth and help in blood circulation. It restores the body’s normal function. 

Does electrotherapy really work?

It does work by blocking the transmission of pain signals by nerves. It also works by releasing chemicals like endorphins which are natural pain inhibitors. Thus reduces pain and restores natural ability to function. 

How long should you do electrotherapy?

It is good to start with a 15 minute therapy session at first. Repeat for another 15 minutes if needed. Use no more than three times each day. To determine the genuine reduction in pain, score your pain before and after each therapy session on a scale of 1 to 10 (low to high). 

What are the side effects of electrotherapy?

Electrotherapy’s most common side effect is skin irritation or rash, which is caused by the adhesives in the electrodes or the tape that holds them in place. Overuse of electrotherapy might result in a burning sensation on the skin. To avoid a problem, directions for the length of therapy should be carefully followed.

Is electrotherapy good for sciatica?

Electrotherapy is a non-invasive treatment for sciatica pain that is showing promising results. Low-voltage electrical current is administered through electrodes placed to the skin in combination therapy for sciatica. The nerve signals that cause sciatica pain are interrupted or completely blocked as a result of this.

Does electrotherapy help pinched nerves?

Yes, considering the case of acupuncture combined with electrical stimulation. The use of needles rather than pads has the advantage of bringing the currents closer to the pinched nerves and muscles. For some people, this might provide near-instant pain relief.