Articles

  Injuries to our body can be very debilitating to say the least. Unlike bone breaks, the injury to soft tissues such as muscle tissue, can take literally years to heal and can result in permanent disability. Much of the healing process deals with whether the patient is doing rehab. exercises or not and can the patient withstand the pain of the process. It is widely recognized that following a bone break in which the bone is treated by immobilization, usually casted, that the bone heals fairly quickly and with little residual bad effects such as weakening of the bone itself. It is in the case of non union fractures that an electrical device is used to insure the bone heals.  Generally the success rate for this type application is 80% success with cases that were 100% not healing. That is not true with muscle or soft tissue injuries and much of that is due to the scar tissue that replaces the original tissue in the area.

 Scar tissue is composed of fibrous connective tissue, which is not flexible, is low tensile strength, non conductive electrically, and interrupts blood flow thereafter to surrounding tissues. The connective tissue forms through tissue such as skin, muscle or internal organs. It can be found on any tissue on or in the body. The human body is incapable of reforming damaged areas back to their original composition, exception being formative years and somewhat through first 6 months of life, so fibrous tissue is rebuilt in its place. This replacement tissue has limited capabilities compared to the original, and also may weaken the structure due to the loss of original muscle tissue being replaced by scar tissue. When skin or organs are damaged, the body naturally wants to heal itself. Since the body cannot re-create healthy skin or tissue, it puts together new fibers that are not as functional as the original tissue, but that serve as a protective, useful barrier. When this barrier is completely healed, it is known as a scar.

 Scar tissue can be found on any tissue on the body, including skin and internal organs, where an injury, cut, surgery or disease has taken place, and then healed. Thicker than the surrounding tissue, scar tissue is paler and denser because it has a limited blood supply; although it takes the place of damaged or destroyed tissue, it is limited in function, including movement, circulation, and sensation. Other than with minor cuts and scrapes, scarring is a common result of any bodily damage.

 For years we've known of the ability to facilitate faster healing using electrotherapy devices especially for wounds; decubitus ulcers, as well as non-union fractures, bones. Electrical input from an external source, be it classified as high voltage, micro current, interferential or tens; supplies the sources of healing power to the body and the body then uses the elements of the supplied power to effect positive changes. Our body is constantly trying to return to normalcy and will do so with little intervention from us. The process of living and growing is a process of electrical currents assisting the body to produce chemical changes. Death is not a depletion of chemicals but a depletion of electrical energy in the body.

 The supplying of electricity is no different than a person knowing they need nutrients so they may eat a banana, cereal, meat, potatoes, cheese, and heaven forbid a little dessert now and then! Our bodies can then take what is supplied, use what is needed and discharge what is not. Our body is actually far smarter than our conscious thinking mind gives credit for. Where you see this repeatedly is in the use of vitamin supplements and our body can not process them in the form ingested, or due to some other reason. Our body will then pass through the vitamin/nutrient rather than absorb it.

 It is the same with supplying an electrical charge. The body decides if it needs the positive ions, the negative ions and discards what charges are not needed once it has chosen it's "electrical nutrients". We still remain somewhat in the dark in deciding what aspect of the electrical charge/field our body needs so we offer a smörgåsbord of choices and let the body use what it needs, discarding what is not needed as it does with vitamins/nutrients. With the advent of the use of interferential therapy we can now do so much more to aid our body, not only for pain, but in effecting more rapid healing with less long term disability.