DCMT--CLASS NOTES--ELECTROTHERAPY

What is Electro Therapy :

Electrotherapy or Thermotherapy is a Non-Invasive therapy designed to reduce and relieve muscle, nerve and joint pain. 

Electrotherapy is a medical modalities in which an electric current is used to perform a wide variety of tasks associated with pain, neurological disorders, muscle-related conditions, and drug delivery. Electrotherapy includes a range of medical techniques, some of which are under much debate and criticism. While electrotherapy itself is an accepted form of medical treatment, electromagnetic therapy (a subset of electrotherapy) is usually discredited due to little evidence of either positive or negative effects.

Electrotherapy is the use of electrical energy as a medical treatment. In medicine , the term electrotherapy can apply to a variety of treatments, including the use of electrical devices

Types of Electrotherapy

All electrotherapy devices have certain similarities, such as using battery power to apply current to electrodes. The therapies vary in frequencies, waveforms, and effects, however. These are some of the most commonly used kinds of electrotherapy:

Stimulating Type  Electrotherapy -

• Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation  (TENS)
• Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation  (PENS)
• Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS)
• Electrical Nerve Stimulation (ENS)
• Inter-ferential Therapy (IFT)
• Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF)

Heat Types Electrotherapy-

• Short Wave Diathermy
• Microwave Diathermy
• Ultrasound Therapy
• Paraffin Wax Bath 
• Infra Red Radiation

                                  ULTRA  SOUND THERAPY  OR  ULTRA  SONIC  THERAPY

Ultra Sound Therapy is defined as a form of acoustic vibration occurring at frequencies too high to be perceived by the human ear. Usually human ear can perceive frequencies below 17,000 cycles per second. So any frequency above that is defined as Ultrasound. 

Therapeutic Ultrasound is a form of medical Treatment by means of Mechanical vibrations with a frequency of above 20 K.Hz. Vibration above the frequency of 20,000 Hz is often called Ultra Sound.

The term Ultra means Different & the term Sonic or Sound are often used inter-changeably. Ultrasound waves are beyond the range of human hearing. Vibration merges with sound at frequencies around 20 Hz.Vibration below this frequency is often called Infra Sound or Infra Sonic.

Vibration Between the Frequency of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz is often Called Sound of Normal Sound.

Contra-Indication of  UST :

• Spread of Infection
• Vascular Problem
• Radio Therapy
• Specialized Tissue
• Nervous Tissue
• Implants
• Anaesthetic areas
• Acute Sepsis
• Tumours
• Pregnancy
• Cardiac Disease

Indication of UST :

• Soft Tissue Injury ( Sprain, Strain, Rupture, Bruise)
• Inflammatory Condition
• Scar Tissue
• Chronic Oedema
• Tendinitis, Bursitis, Capsulitis, Epicondylitis, Periarthritis, Mastitis
• Shoulder Hand Syndrome
• Neuritis & Neuralgia
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Osteo Arthritis
• Ankylosing Spondylitis
• Planter Fascitis
• Calcaneal Spur
• MyalgiaLymphadenitis ( Specific or non Specific)
• Tonsilitis

Danger & Precaution :

• Burns
• Cavitation
• Overdose
• Damage to Equipment

Technique of Application-

• Direct Contact
• Water Bath
• Water Bag
• Water Surface

Doses :

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