How Electrotherapy Helps Neuropathy Sufferers

Electrotherapy involves the use of electrical energy in treatment of various diseases

. Electrical therapy includes various modalities for a variety of diseases, however in patients with neuropathies, the electrotherapies mainly used are electrical muscle stimulation and electroanalgesia.

The form of electrotherapy, called electroanalgesia specifically deals with use of electricity to provide relief from pain. The nerves carry the pain signals as electrical signals, and electrotherapy provides symptomatic relief by interfering with these electrical currents of the nerve fibers. There are numerous techniques for providing electroanalgesia and the ones most commonly used in treatment of pain associated with peripheral neuropathy are peripheral nerve stimulation, percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). The techniques that can be used in pains associated with neuropathies, like diabetic neuropathy, are Peripheral Nerve Stimulation and TENS. Since the extent of the lesions in the nerve is clearly known, the nerve in peripheral nerve stimulation is stimulated proximal to lesion to provide relief from the pain. Recent research also indicates that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is also effective in painful diabetic neuropathy and is being increasingly used because it is a non invasive procedure that uses conducting gel pads placed directly over the skin.

Another subtype of electrotherapy, called electrical muscle stimulation is widely used for various indications. In neuropathy, it is used in rehabilitation if the peripheral neuropathy has caused loss of motor function, for e.g. as in Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The paralyzed muscles are stimulated electrically at regular intervals to prevent muscle atrophy while the nerve slowly heals. Electrical muscle stimulation during recovery of nerve function helps in faster improvement of strength and muscle control.

Patients with autonomic neuropathy may have urinary and fecal incontinence. Electrotherapy can be tried as a therapeutic option in such patients. Often the treatment provides at least some beneficial effect and may even cause complete continence. Electrotherapy can also speed up the wound healing. This is especially important in diabetic patients, where poor wound healing is a troublesome complication of the long-standing diabetes mellitus. Although more research is still needed, the current research data supports the efficacy of the electrotherapy in wound healing. It is postulated that electrotherapy exerts its beneficial effects on wound healing mainly by enhancing the microcirculation and protein synthesis in the area to which it is applied.

Electrotherapy is associated with few side effects and is very safe in most of the cases. However, it may cause life-threatening complication in patients prone to developing cardiac arrhythmias and patients with electrical devices in their bodies, for e.g. pacemakers and hearing aids.

by:Jonathan Berns, DC

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