Electrotherapy

Introduction Functional electrical stimulation (FES) or neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is an therapeutic technique by which small electrical impulses are applied to a paralyzed or spastic muscle in order to induce contraction and thereby improve its function. Traditionally, NMES refers to those stimulatory protocols directed at increasing strength and FES with function. FES can stimulate muscle contraction for exercise, bladder management, grasping, standing, and walking, among other functions. For example, in spinal cord injury patients, electrodes can be applied to the leg muscles and sequential contractions of flexor/extensor groups can be used to drive walking movements. These processes were useful in early neuroprostheses, allowing paralyzed patients to activate their devices in order to induce a given, predetermined function. For example, a patient with chronic right upper extremity hemiparesis might use an implanted device that produces a single, stereotyped movement such as grasping to allow improved activities of daily living. FES has now become part of a short-term therapy paradigm in an attempt to use various induced movement patterns to reestablish and reteach voluntary function to the patient, with the goal of reducing the total need for permanent interventions like neuroprostheses and improving overall function by for enhanced motor learning in therapy. Short-term, therapeutic FES is typically performed using transcutaneous surface…

disorders being so high, many researchers have turned to a treatment that would be more cost and time effective for the patient. This treatment was approved by the Food and Drug Administration(F.D.A.) and is known as Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (Food and Drug…

Non Specific Chronic Low Back Pain (NSCLBP) is a common and costly muscular disorder resulting in significant personal, economical, and social burden (Ma, Chan, & Carruthers, 2014). Many treatment approaches were designed to treat NSCLBP. These approaches need to be supported by evidence to assist the clinician to create the best clinical decision making. The European Guide line for Chronic Low back pain support using some treatment approaches as Cognitive-Behavioral treatment approach where…

Critically review the Evidence of Clinical Effectiveness of Therapeutic Ultrasound for the Treatment of Soft Tissue Injuries Introduction: Electrotherapy is used by practitioners to assist in pain reduction and to accelerate the healing process via an increase in energy: electrical, sound, light, magnetic, temperature (Physioworks, 2015). The treatment modalities that come under the umbrella of electrotherapy are as follows: Ultrasound, Laser, Transcutaneous Electrical nerve stimulation…

commonly face in their daily work. It could occur in any age through the person’s life (Boykin et al, 2010) According to Trampas and Kitsios 2006 the three stages accompany rotator cuff lesion which are inflammation, thickness and fibrosis and rotator cuff tear could be generalized in the term shoulder impingement syndrome. A research in Holland has been conducted showed that there is a small rate of recovering where half of the participants report a return of the pain after a period of…

Strengthening of the cervical and paraspinal muscles is an important part of rehabilitation, not to mention, ergonomic evaluation and postural awareness exercises can all aid in reducing cervical discomfort and maintaining the cervical joint (Diab & Moustafa, 2012, p. 360). And finally, electrotherapy like transcutaneous nerve stimulation can be used as an adjunct to pain treatment. Banerjee & Johnson (2013, p. 139) supported the use of TENS for cervical pain since it is safe, effective and has…

negative effects into perspective. My learning style involves seeing and hearing actual examples of the types of side affects individuals suffer when having a disorder. For instance, when learning about medications, there was a video shown of a woman with jaw muscle spasms as a result of too much antipsychotic medication that is popular in treating schizophrenia. Previously there was confusion on the criteria, yet by going into detail about each category became understandable. There was a quote…

In the early 1950s, mental illnesses like depression and anxiety were treated with unethical “treatments”. These treatments included electrotherapy, lobotomies, and hydrotherapies. Modern therapies , such as aromatherapy and music therapy, were essentially unknown. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, author J.D. Salinger wrote about a narrator with multiple mental health issues, including depression and addiction. Holden Caulfield has shown many clinical signs of mental illness, one being…

My fascination for science, above all, learning how the body is composed, functions and repairs itself, moreover with the knowledge I gain I can improve the well being of people of all ages and health backgrounds, persuades me to develop marketable skills as to achieve a physiotherapy career. By being a patient myself, I understood that physiotherapists require information gathering and assessing skills along with being amiable yet discreet in order for patients to comfortably share personal…

Pain in the back of one’s lower half of the leg is often times a result of a calf muscle tear. A torn calf muscle is similar to a torn Achilles, except it occurs higher up on the leg. Calf injuries occur like any other muscle tear, they can be a result of motions such as running and jumping, pushing off too suddenly, excessive over-stretching, or during quick changes of direction. Symptoms can vary with every person. Most include sudden sharp pains in the upper leg, being tender to the touch,…