It is very common for any patient that is in chronic pain to experience acute muscle pain soon after beginning therapy with an Infrex unit, but this is good. Here's why
Most patients who have been in chronic pain have changed the normal way they approach every day activities such as walking, reaching, getting in and out of chairs,bed etc. The reason is certain positions inflict pain for the chronic pain patient so it is only natural to change one's behavior to avoid painful situations. It's unfortunate but there's always an opposing reaction to a patient doing this and it usually is the overuse of another muscle group and the lack of use of the muscles that should have been doing the movement. Over time the overused group of muscles become painful and the underused group of muscles start to atrophy and create a new painful area that is aggravated when the patient starts rehabbing.
The common term "frozen shoulder" is a typical situation of underuse of muscles resulting in far serious consequences for the affected area over time. Electrostimulation is used for pain of all sorts including muscle pain whether acute or chronic. What is rare is the term "muscle pain stimulator" as generally that usage is best accomplished with the Infrex Plus using the interferential mode.
When the Infrex unit is used for the chronic pain patient one clinical outcome expected is for the patient to become more mobile, engage in stretching exercises, and generally regain mobility that has been restricted since the onset of chronic pain. It is not unusual for a patient to begin using the Infrex for interferential treatments and find they can do more simply because the movements are not hampered by pain impulses. The recovering patient generally starts moving more and stretching muscles that have been unused and atrophied for long time periods. The stretching of those muscles generally will result in pain the following day simply because the cell walls themselves have been extended in the activities and this process of tearing down/building back up results in increased muscle elasticity. This process is part of the healing process of restoration of function to the aggravated painful area.
We recommend continuing to use the Infrex on the interferential mode prior to beginning painful activities such as rehab. exercises but to also use the tens mode of the Infrex when the patient is beginning to do activities they were not doing prior to beginning treatments. An example of this would be if the patient hardly ever walks around the neighborhood due to pain then prior to walking set the tens mode on and as the patient walks then increase the amplitude to accommodate any pain associated with walking. The patient will not inflict any new harm to him/herself but will begin to increase the elasticity, walk greater distances, and improve blood flow and circulation to an area that has not been receiving the benefits of full function.
It also is advisable to use topical pain relieving products immediately upon completion of the exercises for prompt relief.
