AS
Interferential Current (IFC) and
Pre-modulated
Physical therapists will typically use this type of stimulation after an ankle sprain causes swelling, meniscus repair to the knee, rotator cuff surgery and other injuries involving a joint such as the knee, ankle, shoulder or low back. By reducing the swelling, pain can be alleviated and it can allow the muscles to be used again. For example, if the knee is severely swollen due to injury, the muscles in the knee aren't being used as much because the extra fluid and tissue are blocking the range of motion. Along with blocking range of motion, the swelling can decrease circulation. The IFC current decreases swelling to releive pain and increases blood flow. With swelling decreased and blood flow increased, the tissues are more easily repaired by the body.
Russian
The purpose of using Russian stimulation is to illicit a muscle contraction. It is commonly used to assist a muscle in strengthening more quickly following injury or surgery, such as a quadricep muscle which is often weakened during knee surgery. The stimulation may help recovery time decrease because it is helping the unused muscle from becoming too weak. Re-educating the muscles around the area of injury is essential to complete healing because they are indirectly affected. The knee can heal, but in order to use it the muscles have to work. Russian stimulation combats the muscles going into a "dormant period" for the health of the muscle and to reduce recovery time.
High Voltage
This type can be used to heal wounds in patients with circulatory issues such as diabetes. The stimulation is designed to reduce swelling, increase circulation, and promote new tissue production. This is very helpful to diabetes patients because they lack circulation in the extremities which can cause pain and tissue damage. Diabetes patients also get a lot of swelling in the extremities. This type of stimulation addresses all the needs of the typical diabetes patient and works to prevent further damage while trying to repair some of the damage already don't to the tissues in the swollen extremity.
Specific Injuries
This page connects the functions of different electrical stimulation therapies to specific injuries a patient could have. It provides injury examples for each type of stimulation and why that stimulation is needed.