Electrotherapy

It is the application of external energy to get a physiological effect on a tissue in the body. In particular, the energy administered is responsible for stimulating, activating or deactivating, reducing particular physiological events.

At 5 STAR CLINIC, we use mainly three types of electrotherapy which are: Ultrasound, Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), TENS.

ULTRASOUND

It is an Electro Physical Agent that uses sound waves and mechanical energy to treat musculoskeletal problems. The frequencies used are between 1MHz and 3MHz, depending on the depth that we want to reach.

The application of the Intensity and the pulse ration will vary depending on the condition – acute, subacute or chronic.

Ultrasound has two effects – THERMAL and NON-THERMAL – we cannot separate them but we can choose to have a dominant effect.

The Thermal effect is explicated on the dense collagenous tissues providing a heating effect.

The Non-Thermal effect is due to the stable cavitation and the accounting streaming, which appear to speed-up the cellular activity and hence the healing process.

LLLT (Low-Level Laser Therapy)

It is electrotherapy that uses the property of the light to get therapeutic effects.

The primary target of the laser is the cell membrane. It creates an alteration of cell metabolic processes, via a process of photo signal transduction. Some of the possible effects are:

• Reduction of the pain;
• Stimulation of angiogenesis;
• Stimulation of immune responses;  
• Interaction with the inflammation process;  
• Stimulation endogenous opioid production;
• Modification of cell proliferation and motility;  
• Alteration of cell membrane potentials and increase of cellular metabolism.

TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation)

It is a non-invasive peripheral stimulation by pulsed electrical currents, delivered through pads applied on the skin. 

TENS depending on the way of application can be helpful to relieve the pain in two ways:

• Gate control mechanism: takes advantage of the stimulation of sensory nerve fibres, which bring non-painful stimulus to the brain. Their activation blocks the pain signal, not allowing it to arrive in the brain, therefore the result will be a reduced perception of the pain for you.
• Endogenous opioids mechanism: it is based on the stimulation of other sensory nerves which will increase the release of endogenous opioids at the spinal cord.