Nov 5, 2008 8:15 pm US/Eastern
HealthWatch: Fight Pain With Electricity
Electric Muscle Stim Is Becoming Big Part Of Patients' Recovery
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Millions of people cope with it every day -- chronic pain. Treatments don't always ease the suffering. But there is an option that may give patients the "jolt" they need.
Electricity plays an important role in medicine. From pacemakers to EKG machines, the currents have long been used to heal.
Now rehab specialists are harnessing the volts to repair injuries and control pain.
At physical therapy centers nationwide, electric muscle stimulation is becoming a huge part of patients' recovery.
Marja Howell suffers from osteoarthritis and just had a total knee replacement. She's being treated with interferential current therapy also known as IFC.
"What this is going to do is increase blood flow to your knee, to help increase circulation so it helps increase tissue healing response, and also will decrease pain," said physical therapist Darwin Fogt.
Fogt treats patients with three muscle stimulation machines, all with different purposes.
He said the ETS unit is more for muscle strengthening and neuromuscular re-education.
After a wakeboarding accident and four surgeries, Joshua Huber recently got work done on his lower leg muscles for strengthening and helps with chronic pain.
"I'm going to keep turning this up until I see contractions in the peronial muscles, see how it's pulling your foot out to the side," Fogt said.
For chronic pain sufferers home units can be ideal, but only after patients first learn to use them in physical therapy.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of electric muscle stimulation is that it can cut the need for pain medications.
"If we can eliminate a patient's pain by using a TENS unit … it's much more effective than having them rely on drug," Fogt said.
Electric muscle stimulation has been marketed recently for fat burning and weight loss, but the Food and Drug Administration rarely approves devices that make such claims.
The therapy burns just a few calories at best, and likely won't make a difference in appearance.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
2009 Celebrity Deaths
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments