ESTIM part 1 Flashcards
What are electromagnetic agents?
They apply energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation or an electrical current
What are different examples of electromagnetic agents?
-UV radiation, infrared radiation, laser, diathermy, and electrical current
What is a laser?
Output monochromatic, coherent, directional, electromagnetic radiation that is generally in the frequency range of visible light or IR radiation
What is shockwave diathermy?
Produces heat in both superficial and deep tissues
What is electrical stimulation (ESTIM)?
Is the use of electrical current to induce muscle contraction, changes in sensation, reduce edema, or accelerate tissue healing
What is the clinical application to ESTIM in rehab?
- Pain modulation
- Muscle re-education for strengthening
- Edema prevention/reduction
- Decreasing Inflammation
- Tissue/Wound healing
- Muscle spasm reduction (Spasticity management)
- Drug delivery (iontophoresis)
- Reinverting denervated muscle (EMS)
- EMG Biofeedback
What does TENS stand for?
Transcutaneous (non-invasive) electrical nerve stimulation
What does NMES stand for?
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation
What does EMS stand for?
Electrical muscle stimulation
What does TES stand for?
Therapeutic electrical stimulation
What does FES stand for?
Functional electrical stimulation
Can also be FNS - functional neuromuscular stimulation
What does TENS stimulate?
Sensory stimulation
What does NMES stimulate?
Motor stimulation
What is an action potential?
Messaging unit of the nervous system
How do you stimulate an action potential in a nerve cell?
The electrical current must have sufficient amplitude and duration to cause depolarization
What is depolarization?
Change of flow of the ions across the cell membrane = AP “All or none” event
What is repolarization?
Return to resting membrane potential, which is generally more negatively charged due to electron imbalance inside vs. outside the cell
What is adaptation/accommodation?
A decrease in the frequency of action potentials (APs) and a decrease in the subjective sensation of stimulation when electrical stimulation is applied without variation in the applied stimulus
What is propagation? And what way does propagation travel?
Once an AP is generated it triggers an AP in the adjacent area of the nerve membrane
This occurs in one direction from the stimulus along the nerves axon until it reaches its terminating point
What is the terminating point for a motor nerve?
Motor nerve = muscle - creates a muscle contraction
What is the terminating point for a sensory nerve?
Sensory nerve = spinal cord - creates tingling sensation
What is myelin?
Fatty sheath that wraps around certain nerve axons (increasing the diameter) that increase the speed in which nerves propagate
What are nodes of Ranvier?
Small gaps between the myelin sheath from which AP jump from one node to the next, a process called saltatory conduction, which accelerates AP propagation
For the parameters of waveforms, what are the time-dependent characteristics?
- Phase
- Phase duration (width, cycle)
- Pulse
- Pulse duration
- Interpulse interval
- Frequency (rate)
What are the amplitude-dependent characteristics of the waveform parameters?
- Amplitude (intensity)
- Peak amplitude
- Peak to peak amplitude
- Phase change
- Pulse change
What are the device parameters (NMES) of the waveform parameters?
-On/off time
-Ramp up/down time
What is the phase?
Period when electrical current flows in one direction
What is the pulse?
Period when electrical current flows in any direction
May be made up of one or more phases
What is pulse duration (width, cycle)?
How long a pulse lasts, beginning of the first phase of the pulse to the end of the last phase in microseconds (µs)