Pain Management: Bioelectric Therapy

Fibromyalgia Friendly Exercises Slideshow Treating Fibromyalgia Pain Fibromyalgia Symptoms Quiz

• Introduction to bioelectric therapy
• What conditions are treated with bioelectric therapy?
• How effective is bioelectric therapy?
• What happens during treatment using bioelectric therapy?
• What are the side effects of bioelectric therapy?
• How often should I get treated with bioelectric therapy?
• How do I prepare for bioelectric therapy?

Introduction

Bioelectric therapy is a safe, drug-free treatment option for people in pain. It relieves pain by blocking pain messages to the brain. When you are injured, pain receptors send a message to the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). The message is registered as pain by certain cells in the body. Using bioelectric currents, bioelectric therapy relieves pain by interrupting pain signals before they reach the brain. Bioelectric therapy also prompts the body to produce endorphins which help to relieve pain.

What Conditions Are Treated With Bioelectric Therapy?

Bioelectric therapy can be used to treat chronic and acute pain conditions including:

• Complex regional pain syndrome , also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy or RSD
• Back pain
• Muscle pain
• Headaches and migraines
• Disorders of blood flow in the upper and lower limbs
• Arthritis
• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome (effects the jaw)
• Disorders of the nervous system, such as diabetic neuropathy
• Pain and ulcers of the skin resulting from poor circulation or scleroderma (a chronic condition that can cause thickening or hardening of the skin)

Bioelectric therapy isnt right for everyone. It is not recommended for people who:

• Have a pacemaker
• Are pregnant
• Have thrombosis (blood clots in the arms or legs)
• Have a bacterial infection

How Effective Is Bioelectric Therapy?

Bioelectric therapy is effective in providing temporary pain control, but it should only be a part of a total pain management program. When used along with conventional pain-relieving medications , bioelectric treatment may reduce the dose of some pain medications by up to 50%.

Suggested Reading by Our Doctors

• Headache - Learn about the different types of headaches, migraine, tension, cluster, menstrual, and spinal headaches; and their causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
• Migraine - Learn about migraine headache including symptoms such as intense throbbing pain in the temple area of head. Migraine triggers vary from person to person.
• Scleroderma - Read about scleroderma (an autoimmune disease) symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, facts and prognosis. Scleroderma may be diffuse or limited (CREST variant, in which Raynaud's phenomenon and calcinosis are skin complications).

Read more Bioelectric Therapy related articles »

Latest Medical News

• Boomers Doomed to Disability?
• Gender Divorce Gap After Illness Strikes
• Cigarette Smoking's Decline Levels Off
• 22 Million Cases of Swine Flu in U.S.