Electrotherapy

Electrotherapy or electro-medicine is the term used for therapeutic uses of electricity in medicine and physical therapy. For some of the procedures and the terms electric stimulation therapy or low current therapy are used interchangeably.

Common to these methods is that during use DC or AC currents flow through the body or body parts. The corresponding voltages to be supplied through either conductively connected to the skin electrodes or electrodes in a water bath. In applications of implants for functional electrical stimulation, the current emitting electrodes, however, are in the tissue. A special role is a process in which magnetic fields generated by alternating electrical voltages inside the body, according to the law of induction (transcranial magnetic stimulation, pulsed signal therapy, etc.).

A special form of the iontophoresis of drugs through the skin by an existing dar. electric charge of a medicament that can be transported into the tissue of the electric field. The effect can lead to a multiple of the corresponding drugs arrive in less time into the tissue than when they are applied to the skin. The distribution of the drugs active ingredient is done with the past in the skin blood vessels.

In case of failure of nerve in the periphery of the body, so particularly on arms and legs, it comes to the breakdown of muscle cells supplied by the damaged nerve muscle. To avoid this, electrodes are applied during a therapy session and low current pulses ( electrical stimulation ) stimulates the function of the affected nerve. As a result, the threatened muscle moves back and atrophied less rapidly.

The muscles react differently depending on the duration of denervation on various current types differently well. Generally obtained at longer existing Denervationen with Exponentialströmen with relatively long triangular pulses the best results because the muscles only be addressed in the longer current pulses. It can be used triangular pulses, because the healthy muscle does not respond to this pulse shape due to the still existing adaptation ability. But faradization and square wave current are used. Constant direct current ( called galvanization ) can not trigger contractions.

History

Electromagnetic fields are changing since 1764, used in medicine, mainly for heating and circulation increase (see diathermy ), connected with the improvement of wound and bone healing.

After electro-therapeutic procedures in modern medicine by Christian Heinrich Ernst Bischoff (1781-1861), professor of pharmacology at the University of Jena, were described by 1801 in the treatment of neurological diseases in humans. Bischoff was from 1818 until his death professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutics government in Bonn. Bischoff used in its electro- therapeutic device silver electrodes to cure the " paralyzed organ " of his patients.

Electro-medical treatments

• Diathermy
• HF surgery and radiofrequency ablation in surgery
• Oudinspule or Violet Wand

• Galvanotherapy, recording of drugs through the skin
• Stanger, promotes circulation, regulates muscle tone
• Interferential therapy
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
• Cranial Electrical Stimulation ( CES)
• Functional electrical stimulation, controlled muscle stimulation to improve organ function, see also High-frequency muscle stimulation = high tone Bladder pacemaker ( for bladder emptying in paraplegia)
• Respiratory pacemaker
• Pacemaker
• Intestinal pacemaker

• Magnetic Therapy
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation