Interferential current therapy (ICT, or sometimes IFC) is the most common type of electrical muscle stimulation used to treat chronic pain resulting from surgery, injury or trauma. The end goal for using ICT as part of a physical therapy or rehab program is to relieve pain and help patients heal faster.
What does IFC therapy do?
Interferential current therapy is an effective therapy option used by many physiotherapy clinics to relieve pain and accelerate the self-healing process, getting your body back to a healthy, pain free state. The high frequency signals of an IFC penetrate through the skin into deeper lying muscle tissues.
How does IFC reduce pain?
Interferential current (IFC) is a medium frequency electrical stimulation used for pain relief when targeting deep tissue. Two sinusoidal waves are crossed and interfere with each other, creating a third vector to stimulate a larger area.
What is difference between IFC and TENS?
How Does IFC Differ From TENS? TENS delivers low-frequency current across the surface of the skin, while IFC delivers a higher frequency current that penetrates deeper into the tissue with less discomfort.How long does IFC pain relief last?
Both traditional IFC and PREMOD IFC can be done at sensory and motor levels. Sensory settings provide segmental pain relief that is fast-acting and lasts for several hours. Motor stimulation tends to be slower-acting, but may relieve pain for up to 8 hours via segmental and systemic pain modulation.
What are the side effects of electrotherapy?
The most common side effect with electrotherapy is skin irritation or rash, caused by the adhesives in the electrodes or the tape holding the electrodes in place. Overusing electrotherapy may cause a burning feeling in the skin. Directions about the duration of therapy should be followed closely to avoid a problem.
When do we use IFC?
Inferential current (IFC) Developed in the 1950s, IFC is most commonly used for pain relief (Kitchen, 2001). IFC is also claimed to reduce inflammation, and assist tissue repair (including bone fractures), and reeducate muscle (especially with incontinence).
Can you cross the spine with electrical stimulation?
Don’t be afraid to play with your pad placement for electrical stimulation, and keep adjusting until you get the contraction you want. Don’t be afraid to cross the spine – this may provide an even stronger contraction and won’t damage sensitive tissue.Is IFT physiotherapy safe?
The use of IFT is generally considered safe with virtually no side effects. Precautions are, however, recommended in patients with pacemaker, local infection, tumours and hypersensitivity to the gel electrodes.
Which is Better Tens or IFT?Conclusion: Both TENS and IFT are equally effective in the relief of pain in primary dysmenorrhea. However, tolerance to IFT currents is better among young women as they are medium frequency currents.
Article first time published onWhat does IFC stand for?
AcronymDefinitionIFCIndependent Film ChannelIFCInternational Finance CorporationIFCIndustry Foundation Classes (International Alliance for Interoperability)IFCInterfraternity Council
How does IFT reduce pain?
The therapy is meant to boost the body’s natural process of responding to pain, by increasing circulation thus produces hormones that promote healing. IFT delivers intermittent pulses to stimulate surface nerves and block the pain signal, by delivering continuous deep stimulation into the affected tissue.
Is EMS and TENS the same?
The main difference Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) machines stimulate the nerves exclusively for the purpose of relieving pain, whereas Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) machines are designed to stimulate the muscles for the purposes of strengthening and rehabilitating them.
Can electrical stimulation cause nerve damage?
Generally, greater intensity, higher frequency, and longer pulse width stimulation lead to more severe damage in nerve cells (McCreery et al., 2004). In addition, although short-term electrical stimulation is not damaging to nervous tissue, chronic electrical stimulation can damage nerve structure.
Does electrical stimulation help nerve damage?
All experimental results indicated that electrical stimulation facilitates regeneration of injured nerve; direct stimulation caused better recovery than TENS with respect to functional and morphological parameters during the six weeks of the experiment.
What are the benefits of electrical stimulation?
- Stimulating muscular blood flow.
- Increasing strength.
- Reducing muscle pain.
- Improving psychological recovery.
What does SDR stand for?
AcronymDefinitionSDRSales Development Representative (various companies)SDRSpecial Drawing Rights (of the International Monetary Fund)SDRState Department of Rehabilitation (various locations)SDRStandard Dynamic Range (video)
What are the IFC Performance Standards?
The IFC Performance Standards are an international benchmark for identifying and managing environmental and social risk and has been adopted by many organizations as a key component of their environmental and social risk management.
Is EMS bad for your heart?
In healthy subjects, WB-EMS does not seem to affect blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen uptake. The lists of exclusion criteria are, in part, contradictory between different studies, especially regarding malignancy and heart failure. Risk factors for rhabdomyolysis are not mentioned as contraindications for WB-EMS.
Is EMS safe?
Yes, it is safe. EMS training has been scientifically proven to be safe and effective by reputable sports institutions. And no, EMS training is not painful. The sensation of electrical current stimulating your muscles is unusual but something most people get used to very quickly.
Is EMS supposed to hurt?
Does Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) Hurt? No. Under a qualified trainer, you should never feel pain during an EMS session.
Are muscle stimulators bad for you?
Yes. FDA has received reports of shocks, burns, bruising, skin irritation, and pain associated with the use of some of these devices. There have been a few recent reports of interference with implanted devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators. Some injuries required hospital treatment.
How often can you use electrical stimulation?
You can begin with one 15-minute therapy session. Repeat for another 15 minutes if needed. Use up to three times per day at a maximum. During each therapy, rate your pain before and after the session, 1 (low) to 10 (high) in order to gauge the true reduction of pain.
Is a TENS unit bad for your heart?
TENS therapy could increase bleeding at the tissue site or increase the risk of bleeding in persons with bleeding disorders. Heart disease. Do not apply TENS therapy to the chest if you have heart disease, heart failure or arrhythmias.
