L12: Electrical Stimulation 2 Flashcards
What are the 4 uses of EPAs?
- Reduce pain
- Reduce swelling
- Stimulate healing
- Re‐educate muscles
EPAs must be used in with other ______.
treatment
What are the 2 main effects of a pulsed current?
- Stimulation of excitable tissue
- sensory nerves
- motor nerves
- pain nerves (nociceptors)
- muscle tissue directly (when no nerve supply)
- Stimulation of non excitable tissue
- Local tissue effects
What are 4 things that the strength duration curve tell you?
- 1st response usually sensory
- Larger fibre, more easily stimulated
- sensory (Aα) and motor (Aβ)
- short duration pulses‐sensory and motor thresholds can be exceeded without reaching pain tolerance limit
- The smaller the pulse width –> achieve pain relief
- Sensory stimulation for pain control and no motor response, need shorter duration pulse
- Have a lot of leeway with short duration pulses because can turn up intensity quite high before causing pain
To stimulate motor nerves, need a pulse duration greater than _____.
0.01ms
What is the problem with pulse durations greater than 0.01?
will activate pain nerves and be uncomfortable for patients
Need a sharp rising pulse to avoid ______.
accommodation
What is the frequency for tetanic contractions?
Frequencies 30‐50 Hz for tetanic contraction
What are 5 effects of ES on muscle strengthening in normal muscles from ES?
- ES not better than a voluntary contraction‐ not sequential fibre activation
- ES causes average gain in strength of 20‐25% over 1 month (normal muscle)
- Particularly at high rather than low intensity
- but must have high intensity and high frequency (every day) –> for strength (eg. abs)
- Most helpful when have weak muscles –> still have to have high frequency and higher frequency
- Some cross transfer effect
- Efficacy shown in both older and younger age groups
What are 3 effects of ES on muscle strengthening in weakened muscles from ES?
- Much clearer and significant gains
- EG. ES at 30Hz applied to quadriceps of immobilised knees for 1 hour each day for 6 weeks have been shown to reduce muscle atrophy as determined by the cross sectional area of the quads.
- Reduce muscle atrophy • Found in several knee studies
- Needs to be applied at maximum tolerable level
- Effect thought to be due to maintenance of protein synthesis rather than preventing protein breakdown
What are fast twitch fibres?
induce a quick amount of activity
What are slow twitch fibres?
more endurance
What occurs to muscle fibre type during atrophy?
Conversion of slow twitch to fast twitch
- Try to avoid this conversion
What are the 5 changes in muscle fibre plasticity following ES?
Changes in muscle fibre plasticity not very effective but is a better outcome than doing nothing
- Muscle hypertrophies not very effective but is a better outcome than doing nothing
- Fibre type conversion in response to frequency of simulation
- Low frequency (< 10 Hz) best for slow twitch. It can be used to prevent slow twitch fibres transforming to fast twitch (an undesirable process which is part of muscle atrophy)
- High frequency (>30 Hz) best for fast twitch fibres.
- Strengthening and DOMS
- Blood flow increases
- Long term changes in vascularisation at a capillary level
- Increased muscle metabolism inflammation and swelling inflammation and swelling
What are 6 clinical applications of motor stimulation?
- Strengthening normal but weak muscle •
- Strengthening post surgery and prevention of, or recovery from, disuse atrophy (eg. OA or TKR) can help to reactivate muscles
- Inhibition of voluntary control e.g. post TKR
- Reeducation of muscle control
- Poor muscle control e.g. pelvic floor muscles
- Recovering peripheral nerve lesion
- Maintaining or increasing joint ROM
- Increasing muscle endurance
- Change muscle structure and function
- Muscle or motor nerve transplant
What are 3 types of motor stimulation?
- Functional electrical stimulation (FES)
- Uses ES to produce a functional movement or series of movements
- Neuromuscular nerve stimulation (NMES)
- High voltage galvanic stimulation (HGVS/HVS)
What are the 4 parameters for innervated muscle in ES?
- 30‐50 Hz for tetany
- Pulse duration ~ 0.1 ms
- Ramped to achieve on off contractions
- Intensity to motor contraction
What are 5 characteristics of the electrical stimulation of de-nerve muscle?
- Maintain de‐nervated muscle in healthy state
- Muscles are much less excitable than nerves
- Greater intensity and longer PD uncomfortable if they have sensation
- 100‐500 ms, Frequency 0.5‐1 HZ, slow rising pulse shape) needed
- Less accommodation – slow rising pulse shape
- Great advantage to used for SCI –> reactivate muscles
What are the 6 parameters for improving muscle strength when using ES?
- Regularly 1‐2 times a day
- Freq of 35 – 50 Hz (PD best 100 ‐300 μs / 0.1‐0.3ms)
- Up to an hour a session
- Max intensity
- 6 weeks or more
- Low intensity rehab unit (eg. nursing home) - this wouldn’t be effective as it needs to be done so frequently
What are the 3 characteristics of the effects on cutaneous blood flow?
- vasodilation in area
- due to sensory nerve stimulation activating the axon reflex and release of histamine‐like substances
- Stimulation of autonomic nerves
What is the effect on reduction in oedema
Muscle pumping action
What are the 3 proposed effects of the reduction in oedema?
- Displacement of ‐ve charged plasma proteins in interstitial fluid.
- Increased mobility of albumin should accelerate normal capillary lymphatic uptake
- Decreases permeability of capillaries
What are the 3 characteristics of altering th eionic
- Growth and activity altered by monophasic pulses
- Tissue healing accelerated
- Use in wound healing eg. pressure sores, monophasic currents
Electrical charged ______ can be drawn through the skin - using +ve and -ve charges
drugs
What are 5 contraindications for ES?
- General rule: Wherever strong muscle contraction contraindicated
- Over carotid sinus
- Trans‐thoracic applications
- To the pelvic region during pregnancy
- Over an in‐built stimulator eg. pacemakers
What are the 7 precautions/dangers of ES?
- Circulatory insufficiency
- Risk of dissemination
- Exacerbation of existing conditions malignant cells
- Unable to communicate if its too painful –> can cause further injuries
- Reduced sharp/blunt sensation
- take care with Low and Medium Frequency‐
- CI if using DC or long monophasic IDC pulses
- Broken skin
- Self adhesive electrodes
- interrupted direct current –> use HBS - need be careful -> possible chemical burns –> there can be a built up of chemicals under the electrodes
What are 8 general points to consider with electrical stimulation?
- What machine?
- What type of electrodes?
- Size of electrodes?
- Need for couplant?
- gel or water (in hospital- won’t have adhesive pads)
- Check electrodes and leads
- Always turn machine on before applying to patient and detach patient from machine before switching off in case of a power surge don’t want the current to jump and cause pain/shock for the patient
- Motor stimulation or pain relief
- Optimum patient position for effect
What are 6 principles of ES Application?
- Electrodes ‐ carbon rubber or metal
- Skin resistance
- Coupling to skin ‐ water, wet pad/sponge
- Polarity
- Current density
- Skin impedance
What are 2 types of electrodes?
- Polymer based electrodes
- Reuseable adhesive electrodes
What are 2 characteristics of Polymer based electrodes?
- carbon‐impregnated silicone rubber
- used with wet sponge pads
What is a characteristic of
Gel based adhesive
What are 5 characteristics for carbon electrodes?
- Need wet pad or gel between electrode and skin
- Need to ensure that electrode is not cracked check wires as well
- May use adhesive pad with these electrodes
- Use if get skin irritation with adhesive pad
- Lower cost Environmentally friendly
What are 7 characteristics for adhesive electrodes?
- Stainless steel knitted mesh fabric
- Good gel system – good adherence
- Even distribution of ES
- Irritation of skin is common
- Expensive – $8‐12 for 4 pack
- Patient may be asked to buy own
- Need replacing when dry
What are the 3 things that the electrode size depends on?
- Depends on body part
- Depends on aim of treatment
- Generally larger better- less likely to cause skin damage
Total current at each electrode is the same but _____ ie. current/unit area will be different
current density
If using 2 electrodes of different sides current density will be _____ (greater/lesser) under smaller electrode
greater