by Bob Johnson

Created on: June 02, 2008

Interferential therapy is probably the most effective form of electrotherapy in the world for chronic pain.

The major difference between using interferential units versus tens units is with interferential therapy the patient has what is deemed "carryover pain relief" after the initial treatment and any subsequent treatments. Tens treatments are generally effective only while the unit is actually being used.

Tens, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, is electricity generated from a reusable or disposable battery source. In effect it is what is deemed a modified DC current consisting of a pulse range from .5 to 150 pulses per second. The net effect of a complete cycle, electricity turned on and off, is there will be no net DC effect following one complete cycle. This is important as when a person is exposed continuously to either a positive or negative charge there can be created an iontophoretic chemical burn which is painful and disfiguring resulting in what is called a keloid scar. Tens units were one of the first type electrotherapy units to solve this problem by making sure the positive and negative charges were equal thus allowing the continuous wearing of a unit without worry of keloid scarring.

Interferential units are units that historically have operated off general currents and required the unit to be plugged into a traditional wall outlet. The reason for this requirement is interferential generates 8,000+ pulses per second, far more than the 150 found in tens. This much greater output is too overwhelming for past disposable and rechargeable battery systems unless the battery system was carted by a large wagon or wheelbarrow. Due to the greater output required a patient could only be treated as an inpatient or with an appointment in the clinic. Disposable/rechargeable battery systems simply do not have the capacity to make the interferential unit portable.

The cost of a clinical unit ranged from a couple of thousand dollars to more than ten thousand dollars.

Another issue facing the use of interferential has been the type treatment, even though in use for more than 60 years, is still regarded as experimental by H.C.F.A. ( Medicare ) so the rental or purchase of a unit was not covered by insurance however the in house treatments were.

The greatest advantage of interferential over tens is it is common for a patient to have a 20-30 minute treatment and immediately be pain free or the pain is greatly reduced. The patient can then leave the clinician's office and not need another treatment for days and even weeks. This is called "carryover pain relief".

Since many patients have had to pay out of pocket for interferential treatments the patient has demanded relief or they simply will not return to the clinician. Interferential has stood the test of patient satisfaction for many decades.

The long term goal of interferential has been to allow the patient to achieve pain free days and be able to return to a normal life, without posturing or being inactive due to pain, with a drug free modality. Today's interferential units are almost to the point of actual treatment outside a clinic with a portable device and is reimbursable by the leading insurance companies thus saving the patient time and expense of only being able for treatment in a clinical setting.

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