Below is a letter from a MS patient who has successfully used the Infrex Plus for multiple sclerosis pain and now wants to use the water therapy techniques for interferential treatments with the pain limb submerged in water using the water as electrode tens - interferential technique. Original email listed at bottom of this article.
Thanks DA patient ( name withheld) again for the nice comments and referral to your Massage Therapist, M.T.. I'm happy you're continuing to benefit however there are some integrative approaches to be used that may help on the bottom of foot pain you are experiencing. I put up an article on our web site this week on "attacking the layers of pain" which is an interim article until we do the video. Click on the below to see the article:
Also we only have some brochures on the Infrex that actually show the last prototype we used before the final product which is the one you have now. Infrex image not as it is but he verbiage is still correct.
Let me address each of your questions you've asked. Your need of the Infrex Plus treatments less frequently is totally consistent with what we have seen and we attribute it to the creation of longer carryover pain relief.
Questions:
(1) when used in water, does the unit only uses two electrodes instead of four? Can use two or four as will get the interferential therapy either way.
(2) are the special electrodes just put in the water loose, not applied to the skin? Yes do not apply to skin but put on far ends of container with water. Reason for this is now the electricity travels across the water in shortest path, and we want your foot, lower leg, in the middle of that direct path - Electricity takes path of least resistance and will go directly to your extremity but now all the water is an electrode.
Can they be put on the skin (feet)? Yes can do but not sure if will be as effective but if I were you I would try and see if works better. Simply because the foot is now wet, better conduction throughout, and may work better than electrodes off foot but in water. IF you do this I would put one electrode on the bottom of your foot and the other up on your calf.
(3) can I put one electrode in one bucket of water for one foot and the other electrode in a different bucket of water for the other foot? Very innovative and great thinking on your part. Well done!!!
Yes you can and reason is now your body is the "path". Electricity comes out of Electrode A in water where left foot is, goes up leg and over to bucket B where Electrode B is ( actually this is the "ground electrode", "circuit completer") and now the electrons pass into that electrode. Now this is interesting placement but two things to remember.
· The Infrex Plus has two separate amplitude/power controls so you can treat two separate feet at same time but more power in one channel than other. You could put two electrodes in one bucket, same channel, the other two in the other bucket, same channel and adjust the power for each bucket. Benefit is pain varies and more power may be necessary for one foot than the other. You have the option to adjust based upon pain level.
· The above now stops the transfer of power ( flow of electrons) across your body but confines it to each foot as the channels are set up for each bucket and that is where the circuit exists versus the previous idea of one channel with one electrode in each bucket.
Hope the above not too technical but you've raised an interesting concept. If confused call me - 800-937-3993.
(4) if I find a bucket large enough, can I put both electrodes in the water with both feet in it and get the same benefit?" Yes you should be able to and remember you may not need a bucket but can also use bathtub.
Last thing MS patient, has your Dr. checked your legs for vascular insufficiency? Reason for asking is often pain of lower extremities can be due to vascular insuff. Another option then would be use of EMS type stockings for constriction and/or an extremity pump to move fluids to help stop pain. Also elevation helps ( above heart). Just a fyi.
Hi Bob,
I wanted you to know that, thankfully, the Infrex unit that I got from your company at the end of December 28, 2009 has gotten the throbbing pain I had in my ankles under control and I now use it only occasionally, as needed. My (nerve) pain is now localized to just the bottoms of my feet but nothing seems to help there, and I still have some lower leg swelling. Recently at a weekend retreat for people with multiple sclerosis, I had a complimentary massage. The massage therapist decided to try "Manual Lymphatic Drainage" (MLD) on my feet and legs. To my surprise, it did not hurt and it actually helped to temporarily reduce the pain on the bottoms of my feet and gave me additional hope (I've been in a wheelchair for one year now and am still hopeful that I will one day reach my goal of being able to walk without pain on the bottom of my feet).
Since the massage therapist did MLD to my legs and feet, it gave me more hope of attaining my goal mentioned above so I saw her a few more times and continued to get temporary relief. She is such a good and caring person that she recently came to my house to show me how I could do it myself using household items such as a rolling pin, tennis and golf balls, etc. Previously I had told her about the Interferential unit and how it has been very beneficial to me in controlling the ankle throbbing pain over the last five months, allowing me to no longer have to take the pain medications. She was very interested in it so, while she was at my home, I showed her the Infrex unit and demonstrated it. She was very impressed and noted your company name on the blue pack the Infrex is kept in. I spoke very highly of you and your company and even mentioned that you have a positive (A) rating with the BBB that I find so important. She is all for alternative treatments so I am certain that she will share this information about the MedFaxx Infrex unit with others who she may come across that she thinks might benefit from it in the future. In the meantime, do you have any brochures, business cards, and/or pieces of literature about the MedFaxx Infrex that you could send to me so that I can put them into the hands of those that are interested? I have told my doctor and many people at my support group about the MedFaxx Infrex but it would be nice to be able to give them something to refer to if they were interested, as was the massage therapist; it might help facilitate referrals.
The massage therapist asked me if the unit could be used in water and I said yes but that I was waiting to hear from you for instructions, once you finished creating an instructional video for your website. I did tell her that I understood that it could be used with water only with special electrodes and only using the batteries. Last night I decided to check your website and found a video on "Using Hot or Cold Water As An Electrode System for Pain Relief", I assume this is the one you had been working on? After watching the video I have some questions about it:
(1) when used in water, does the unit only uses two electrodes instead of four?
(2) are the special electrodes just put in the water loose, not applied to the skin? Can they be put on the skin (feet)?
(3) can I put one electrode in one bucket of water for one foot and the other electrode in a different bucket of water for the other foot?
(4) if I find a bucket large enough, can I put both electrodes in the water with both feet in it and get the same benefit?
Please let me know your thoughts on this. I would like to try the Infrex with water but want to make sure that I use it correctly so as to obtain the optimal benefit from it. Thank you.
D.A., Patient (name withheld)
