How does electrotherapy work and how will it help me?

Electrotherapy refers to therapeutic applications of electrical current in medicine and physical therapy.

The electrical current causes the muscles to contract and therefore helps the muscles to develop and strengthen. The electrical signals eliciting muscle contractions are transmitted from the device through the skin to the muscle. Electrically conducting contact surfaces, the so-called “electrodes”, are attached to the skin. When configuring the device to your needs, your attending physician or therapist will show you where to place the electrodes for best results.

Muscle activity is usually controlled by the nervous system which stimulates muscle contraction with electrical signals. When parts of the nervous system (e.g. parts of the brain or a nerve) are damaged, signal transmission may be impaired so that signals reach the muscles only partially or not at all. Such damage may be caused by stroke, injury or infection. As a result, these muscles are less used and muscle mass decreases.

In these cases, an electrostimulator such as the STIWELL med4 can be used for rehabilitation to prevent muscle degeneration (atrophy) and support the regeneration of the nervous system.

In the form of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), electrotherapy can be used for pain treatment.

How can I relearn complex movements?

Electrotherapy can help you to partially or completely develop muscles and relearn movements lost as a result of injury, surgery or other health conditions.

The human brain is able to rebuild structures in undamaged areas of the body, which are no longer present in damaged areas (neuroplasticity). The biofeedback function of the STIWELL med4 facilitates regeneration of lost mobility and independence. The patient receives visual and acoustic feedback.

The STIWELL med4 has different biofeedback programmes. Depending
on the clinical symptoms (spasm, muscle degeneration, coordination
problems), a suitable programme can be selected. This extends the possible areas of application to:

  • Disease or injury of the central nervous system (CNS) – e.g. spasticity
    or pareses after apoplexia, conditions following craniocerebral injury
  • Disease or injury of the spinal cord – e.g. incomplete paraplegia
  • Regenerable peripheral neural lesions
  • Neuro-orthopaedic functional disorders
  • Incontinence
     

To guarantee correct application of electrotherapy, the attending physician or therapist should follow up on therapy progress and adjust the stimulation parameters as required.

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