Nerve Pain and Muscle Spasms

×

Re-vert Electrotherapy Systems

The Re-vert Electrotherapy family of systems include Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), Neuromuscular Stimulation (NMS), Interferential Stimulation (IF), and High-Voltage Pulsed Galvanic Stimulation (PGS).

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Unit

This is the most advanced, pocket-sized, fully portable TENS system designed to relieve both acute and persistent pain. The TENS unit is about the size of a deck of playing cards, so you can wear it anywhere, at home, at work, or in your car. A convenient belt clip allows you to wear it on your belt or even inside your clothing. This type of stimulation is characterized by biphasic, low volt current with selectable parameters such as pulse rate and pulse width. TENS stimulates sensory nerves to block pain signals and stimulates endorphin production to help normalize sympathetic function.

What is TENS?

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is a non-invasive, non-narcotic alternative for managing pain.

How does TENS Work?

TENS was designed to relieve pain by sending gentle electrical impulses through the skin to the nerves. This suppresses pain by blocking the pain signals before they reach the brain. TENS sends these gentle impulses through lead wires that are connected to electrodes. These electrodes are strategically placed at appropriate pain sights on the body. The TENS unit allows you to select which part of the body needs to be treated with pre-established parameters. TENS is an excellent, non-drug alternative for chronic pain such as lower back ache and arthritis. It is also useful in relieving acute pain associated with surgery, traumatic injury and other conditions.

Symptoms / Indications:

  • Systemic Pain
    • Bursitis
    • Cancer
    • Causalgia
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Neuralgia
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Phantom Limb Syndrome
    • Raynaud's Syndrome
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Synovitis
    • Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
  • Head and Neck Pain
    • Cluster Headaches
    • Dental Disorders
    • Migraine Headaches
    • Spondylosis
    • Sprains/Strains
    • Suboccipital Headaches
    • TMJ Syndrome
    • Torticollis
    • Trigeminal Neuralgia
    • Whiplash
  • Abdominal Pain
    • Diverticulosis
    • Dysmenorrhea Labor
    • Postoperative Pain
  • Spine / Hip Pain
    • Facet Syndrome (Degenerative Joint Disease)
    • Degenerative Disc Disease
    • Radiculopathy (Nerve Pain)
    • Stenosis
    • Lumbago

Neuromuscular Stimulation Unit

This type of stimulation is characterized by a low volt stimulation targeted to stimulate motor nerves to cause a muscle contraction. NMS differs from TENS in that it is designed to stimulate muscle motor nerves, while TENS is designed to stimulate sensory nerve ending to help decrease pain. NMS is predominately used to prevent or reduce muscle atrophy.  Doctors also see NMS as a means of increasing blood flow to muscles, increasing range of motion, increasing muscle strength, as well as enhancing muscle endurance. NMS will have pain management attributes in regards to muscle related pain, such as spastic muscle, sore muscles, or tight muscles. NMS uses electrical impulses to stimulate the nerve axons (long outgrowths of a nerve cell body), some of which you cannot stimulate voluntarily. A rhythmic pumping of the muscles helps deliver nutrients and oxygen to the muscles. Concurrently, waste products such as lactic acid are pumped out of the muscles. This increased blood flow to the muscle cuts down on recovery time and promotes healthy muscle activity.

Symptoms / Indications:

  • Prevent or retard disuse atrophy
  • Strengthening programs
  • Post-op orthopedic surgery
  • Shoulder subluxation
  • Joint replacement
  • Re-educating muscles
  • Gait training
  • Reduction of spasms

Interferential Unit

Interferential Stimulation differs from TENS because it allows deeper penetration of the tissue with more comfort and increased circulation. Interferential current is essentially a deeper form of TENS. It modulates a higher frequency carrier waveform with the same signal produced by a TENS unit. The high frequency carrier waveform penetrates the skin more deeply than a regular TENS unit, with less user discomfort for a given level of stimulation.

Interferential electrical stimulation is a unique way of effectively delivering therapeutic frequencies to tissue. Conventional TENS and Neuromuscular stimulators use discrete electrical pulses delivered at low frequencies. However, interferential stimulators use a fixed carrier frequency and an adjustable frequency. When the fixed and adjustable frequencies combine (heterodyne), they produce the desired signal frequency (interference frequency). Interferential current crosses the skin with greater ease and with less stimulation of cutaneous nociceptors allowing greater patient comfort during electrical stimulation. In addition, because medium-frequency (interferential) current is tolerated better by the skin, the dosage can be increased, thus improving the ability of the interferential current to permeate tissues and allowing easier access to deep structures.

This explains why interferential current may be most suitable for treating patients with deep pain and for depressing the activity of certain cervical and lumbosacral sympathetic ganglia in patients with increased arterial constrictor tone.

Symptoms / Indications:

  • Pre and post-orthopedic surgery
  • Joint injury syndrome
  • Increased circulation
  • Cumulative trauma disorders
  • Pain control of various origins

High-Voltage Pulsed Galvanic Stimulation Unit

In contrast to TENS and IF units, which apply alternating current, galvanic stimulators apply direct current.

Devices in this class are characterized by a unique twin-peak monophasic waveform with very short pulse duration (microseconds) and a therapeutic voltage greater than 100 volts. The combination of very short pulse duration and peak current, yet low total current per second (microcurrent) allows relatively comfortable stimulation. Furthermore, this combination provides an efficient means of exciting sensory, motor and pain-conducting nerve fibers. Perceptual discrimination of these responses is relatively easy to achieve and thus its clinical versatility. Skin offers a great amount of resistance to the flow of electrical current. When current is passed through a circuit that contains resistors, voltage drop occurs and energy is lost. This phenomenon occurs when traditions low voltage units are used in treatment. A high voltage device produces a spontaneous breakdown in skin resistance and HVPGS current passes through the skin with negligible thermal and electrochemical effects.

Symptoms / Indications:

  • Wound healing
  • Edema reduction
  • Pain relief
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Diabetic foot
  • Acute injuries associated with tissue trauma