In the last 2 decades, a lot of healthcare professionals have been using a wide range of electrotherapy devices to help their patients. With these electrotherapy devices, they have been relieving chronic and acute arthritis and sports pain, post-surgical pain, and even inflammation.

However, it is important to notice that there are mainly 4 different types of electrotherapy devices:

– Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

– Interferential (IF) therapy

– Microcurrent (Micro) therapy

– Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS)

As you can imagine, each one of these electrotherapy devices offers different benefits. Nevertheless, choosing the best one for your patient doesn’t need to be complicated.

Before we get into each one of the different types of electrotherapy devices, it is important that you understand what electrotherapy is and how it works.

Simply out, electrotherapy is a treatment that is frequently prescribed to treat different chronic and acute musculoskeletal ailments. When applied, the electrical stimulus that is provided to the patient’s body will partially disrupt pain signals, preventing them from reaching the brain.

Electrotherapy devices also vary in terms of size. In fact, there are some electrotherapy devices that are only meant to be used at a clinician’s office while others can be used by individuals at home. The truth is that more and more individuals are looking for electrotherapy devices to use at home since this is actually something encouraged by healthcare professionals. By doing this, they are encouraging patients to have an active participation in their own care and recovery.

The Types Of Electrotherapy Devices

As you probably already know, each type of electrotherapy devices serves its own purpose. So, it’s important that you determine the type of electrical impulse that the patient needs so that you can use the right electrotherapy device.

#1: Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS):

This is the most popular electrotherapy device. One of the things that you need to know about TENS unit supplies is that it shouldn’t be considered the cure for the pain. The reality is that sometimes, patient’s will only feel a slight improvement on discomfort.

#2: Interferential (IF) Therapy:

This electrotherapy device is similar to the TENS in terms of the way that it works. The reality is that it passes current through your skin so that it can relieve patients from pain. However, the main difference is that the IF therapy tends to travel at a much higher frequency. So, it allows it to penetrate deeper into your body tissue issues. In addition, with this electrotherapy device, you can target pain that you can’t reach when using TENS units supplies.

 

#3: Microcurrent Therapy (Micro):

One of the main differences between this therapy and the Micro Therapy is that this last one mimics the current that is produced by your body in a natural way. One of the things that you can expect from this therapy is that since it increases blood flow, your cells will be more energetic which will help with your healing.

 

#4: Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS):

This therapy that uses Tens unit supplies sends pulsing current directed specifically to the muscle. This may cause the muscle to periodically relax and contract.

The EMS is very used to improve overall muscle tone as well as it can also be used to prevent or deter muscle atrophy.