The main difference between TENS and IFC is that TENS helps in stimulating the current that is generated which initially flows through the electrodes of the body to replace certain parts of a body, and on the other hand, the IFC helps in Converting the stimulation that is received at the point joining near the electric point into electrodes.
When do you use IFC over TENS?
Placement for TENS (Borst, n.d.) 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).
What is IFC mode on a TENS unit?
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.
Is interferential the same as TENS?
Interferential Stimulation differs from TENS because it allows a deeper penetration of the tissue with more comfort (compliance) and increased circulation. Common uses: Pre and post-orthopaedic surgery, joint injury syndrome, cumulative trauma disorders, increasing circulation and pain control of various origins.
What is difference between TENS and IFT?
Whereas TENS Units delivers periodic electric pulses to stimulate surface nerves and block the pain signal, IFT Physiotherapy Equipment transmits a continuous stimulation deep into the affected tissue thereby blocking the pain signals and reducing swelling and inflammation which causes pain.
What is IFC good for?
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.
Can IFC help with nerve pain?
It is more commonly used, however, to treat acute and chronic pain associated with: Back pain. Sprains and strains. Nerve damage.
What are the three types of TENS?
Table 1.Conventional TENS (low-intensity, high-frequency)Acupuncture-like TENS (high-intensity, low-frequency)Intense TENS (high-intensity, high-frequency)
Does a TENS unit break up inflammation?
TENS may reduce the inflammatory process and can be used as a physiotherapeutic treatment of pathologies marked by inflammation and pain.
Can a TENS unit increase inflammation?
Using a TENS machine also naturally enhances the flow of endorphins to the brain. Studies have also shown that using a TENS machine regularly decreases inflammation.
Does IFT relax muscles?
IFT delivers intermittent pulses to stimulate surface nerves and block the pain signal, by delivering continuous deep stimulation into the affected tissue. IFT relieves pain, increases circulation, decreases edema, and stimulates the muscles.
How many days IFT can be given?
The interferential therapy being just a temporary pain relief therapy takes a time duration of seven days minimum to get a healthy result for a patient. However due to less effectiveness it can be given to a patient continuously for 21 day to a month, for severe cases, as required.
What mode is best on a TENS unit?
Acute pain is usually most effective between 80 and 120 Hz. Chronic pain can also benefit from lower settings 2 to 10Hz that stimulates an endorphin release. A setting between 35 and 50Hz is commonly used to stimulate muscles for strengthening or even relaxation.
What are the modes on a TENS unit?
Mode Control: Allows you to switch between the five programmed modes, including burst, normal, modulation, SD1, and SD2. Set Control: Lets you select between the settings to get the optimal pain treatment. Increment Control: Let's you increase the settings of the TENS 7000, including pulse width, pulse rate, and timer.
What are different TENS modes?
The different TENS modes include conventional narrow pulse duration, high pulse rate, low frequency, burst, modulation, and hyperstimulation. Use of conventional TENS results in a comfortable electrical paresthesia, whereas low-frequency modes result in rhythmic muscle contractions.
What is the difference between IFC and NMES?
Interferential current (IFC) stimulates nerves to reduce pain. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) stimulates the nerves in muscles to restore function and strength, prevent muscle atrophy, and reduce muscle spasms.
How many electrodes are needed for IFC?
IFC delivers current to deep-seated structures through an amplitude-modulated interference wave typically with the use of four electrodes (Kitchen, 2001).
What is tens in skin?
Physiologically, conventional TENS selectively activates non-noxious low threshold afferent nerve fibers in the skin (Aβ-fibers). When administering TENS, Aβ nerve fiber activity is reported by the client to feel like a strong electrical paresthesia (pins and needles) beneath the electrodes (Walsh et al., 2009). AL-TENS is intended to generate a muscle twitch to activate small diameter afferent nerve fibers in muscles (Aδ) and descending pain inhibitory pathways. AL-TENS is administered at low frequency and high intensity currents over muscles, without pain.
What is AL Tens?
AL-TENS is intended to generate a muscle twitch to activate small diameter afferent nerve fibers in muscles (Aδ) and descending pain inhibitory pathways. AL-TENS is administered at low frequency and high intensity currents over muscles, without pain. Placement for TENS (Borst, n.d.)
How does Tens address pain?
How TENS Addresses Pain: Gate control theory, established in 1965, proposes a gate consisting of excitatory and inhibitory synapses that exist in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (Walsh et al., 2009). This gate can regulate the amount of nociceptive traffic (painful stimuli) transmitted to the brain. This gate could be closed by non-noxious ...
When was IFC developed?
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).
Does TENS have similar effects to IFC?
Current evidence suggests that overall TENS and IFC have similar effects on pain and improvements in functional outcome measures (de Almeida et al., 2018). There is a need for larger, well-designed and standardized studies to establish the best parameters for pain management due to limitations in current literature.
Does IFC generate electrical paranesthesia?
Use of IFC should generate a strong but comfortable electrical paranesthesia at the site of the pain, to generate Aβ activity (Kitchen, 2001).
What is the difference between IFC and Tens?
Summary: 1.IFC uses the stimulation of the inferential electricity that concentrates at the intersection point of the electrodes while TENS stimulates the generation of current that can flow through its leads to electrodes that are placed on specific locations on the person’s skin.
How does Tens work?
On the other hand, TENS stimulates the generation of a current that can flow through its leads to electrodes that are placed on specific locations on the person’s skin. TENS electric reactions in the sensory and motor nerve fibers are caused by the low-voltage current. It uses the gate control theory.
What does IFC stand for in tens?
TENS literally stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation and IFC is an abbreviation for Inferential Current Therapy . Both are palliative treatments that utilize electric currents for long-term intractable pain and post-operative and post-traumatic periods of acute pain.
What is the function of the IFC?
2.IFC focuses its function primarily to block the pain message on the peripheral nerve fibers. On the other hand, a TENS unit’s electric reactions are for the sensory and motor nerve fibers.
Does IFC stimulate endorphins?
Typically, pain with a very deep origin is hard to reach with other treatment modalities other than IFC. IFC stimulates circulation, and TENS can stimulate endorphin production.
Can IFC be used for pregnant women?
TENS can only treat conditions with low-risk involvement like treating back pain. It is contraindicated for pregnant women. IFC is used to manage edema, pain, and inflammation which are caused by trauma or degenerative alterations with the involvement of soft tissues. It can treat conditions like shingles, neuralgia, and arthritis.
Which is better, 5.IFC or TENS?
5.IFC can reach greater depths and offers electrotherapy to a larger number of tissues than TENS.
What is IFC?
IFC is the short form of Interferential Current. This device is used to treat patients having psychopathic disorders. This device emits low frequencies of electrical current to the body which helps to push to the nerve and reduce the pain. This method helps in reducing the pain and improves the circulation of blood in a person’s body.
What is the full form of TENS?
The full form of TENS is Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and on the other hand, the full form of IFC is Interferential current.
How does IFC work?
Both these work by sending stimulation into the person’s body in form of mild currents to the electrodes into our body. Though they perform the same actions, they do have their differences in how they function.
What is an IFC device?
IFC is the short form of Interferential Current. This device is used to treat patients having psychopathic disorders. This device emits low frequencies of electrical current to the body which helps to push to the nerve and reduce the pain. This method helps in reducing the pain and improves the circulation of blood in a person’s body.
What is the difference between tens and ifc?
The difference between TENS and IFC is that TENS helps in stimulating the current that is generated which initially flows through the electrodes of the body to replace certain parts of a body, and on the other hand, the IFC helps in Converting the stimulation that is received at the point joining near the electric point into electrodes.
What frequency does a tens transmit?
The TENS usually transmit low frequencies ranging up to 125 HZ, and on the other hand, the IFC usually transmits a high frequency of up to 4000 HZ.
What is the purpose of a splint device?
This device is performed on a person’s body to treat pain related to joints, pain during labor pain occurring after the surgery, pain at a person’s back or neck. This method gives instant relief to a person having pain in their body parts. This method is very essential for curing pain.
What is NMES in medical terms?
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) Intended for relaxing muscle spasms, preventing muscle atrophy, increasing blood circulation, maintaining or increasing range of motion, and especially for re-educating the neuromuscular system.
What is the difference between EMS and NMES?
For example, EMS and Russian electrical stimulation are both generally intended for athletic training, but Russian stimulation uses high frequency sinusoidal waveforms, where as EMS typically uses lower frequency rectangular waveforms. As another example, TENS units are typically used for pain relief, while NMES units are used to retrain muscles after an injury , even though both TENS and NMES use similar stimulation waveforms.
What is the name of the electrical stimulation that increases or decreases activity in the nervous system?
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) Functional electrical stimulation (FES) Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and many more…. All of these names refer to the same basic thing – applying electricity to the body to increase or decrease activity in the nervous system. The different names come from applying ...
What is the problem with Gad Alon?
Part of the problem that Gad Alon referred to is the fact that people will say they use a particular kind of electrical stimulation, like Russian electrical stimulation, without ever explaining what it really means. Generally speaking, the different names reflect either the intended use of the electrical stimulation or the characteristics ...
What is EMS therapy?
Essentially the same as EMS, but typically focused on therapeutic use (rehab) instead of athletic use (training) Intended for relaxing muscle spasms , preventing muscle atrophy, increasing blood circulation, maintaining or increasing range of motion, and especially for re-educating the neuromuscular system.
What is electrical stimulation?
Electrical stimulation is an incredible technology with the potential to dramatically change the way we restore and enhance the human body. Unfortunately, despite centuries of research on electrical stimulation, we still have yet to see the practical use of electrical stimulation reach its full potential.
What is an IFC?
Interferential current (IFC) electrical stimulation. Intended for symptomatic relief of acute, chronic, and post-traumatic or post-surgical pain. Similar to TENS, but generally more effective and powerful. Much less common than TENS, but more functional and more expensive. Example: Amrex Z-Stim IF150.
What is a TENS unit?
TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. The device emits a stimulating pulse that awakens the nerves, and blocks pain signals from being sent to the brain.
What is an EMS unit used for?
EMS devices are effective for muscle building, as strength is developed through the process of the muscles contracting then relaxing.
Should I choose a TENS / EMS combo unit?
You might notice when trying to find the perfect TENS or EMS machine, that a number of units offer both therapies.
Why are EMS machines more effective?
The rationale being that this stimulation keeps pain signals from reaching the brain. EMS machines cause muscles to contract, rather than impacting on pain signals. This makes them more effective for muscle building and rehabilitation.
What does EMS stand for in medical terms?
EMS stands for electrical muscle stimulation. The device sends signals to your muscles to make them contract. It essentialy mimics the action potential that comes from your central nervous system.
Why do people use tens devices?
That’s because it would interrupt those pain signals being sent from your back to your brain.
Do EMS devices pop up in TENS?
If you’re shopping around for a TENS unit , you might have noticed EMS devices also popping up in the results.
