Principles of Application Low frequency currents
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1. The document summarizes principles of electrode application, including electrode-tissue interface, tissue impedance, types of electrodes, and current flow in tissues. 2. Key points covered include how electrical current transitions from wires to tissues, factors that determine tissue impedance, types of electrodes like metal and carbon rubber electrodes, and how changing electrode size and spacing alters current density. 3. The document also discusses unipolar and bipolar systems, how current flow depends on tissue impedance, and methods for lowering skin resistance like washing, warming, and wetting the skin.
Principles of Application Low frequency currents
- 1. PRINCIPLES OF APPLICATION LECTURE 6 AVANIANBAN CHAKKARAPANI DATE:19.01.15 TIME: 15.00 TO 16.00 VENUE: KA 342, UTAR, BANDAR SUNGAI LONG
- 2. LEARNING OUTCOME • After the successful completion of this session students should be able to; 1. Describe the electrode tissue interface, tissue impedance, types of electrodes, size of electrodes and methods of application, current flow in tissues and lowering of skin resistance; 2. Apply the knowledge gained during application in real life situation.
- 3. INTRODUCTION • Electrical energy for therapy must be applied to the body tissues with at least two electrodes to form a complete circuit • The transition of an electric current of conduction in the wires (electron movement) to a convection current in the tissues (ionic movement) is complex and very important in determining the resulting effects.
- 4. ELECTRODE TISSUE INTERFACE 1. The changes that occur between the conducting metal and conducting fluid on and within the tissues consist of complex dynamic electrochemical interactions. 2. A layer of ion-containing fluid is needed to pass current from the electrode to the tissues, normally skin. 3. This is usually water or conducting gel. 4. This serves to ensure a uniform conducting pathway between the electrode and the epidermis and secondly to make the electrochemical changes occur outside the epidermis. 5. Since the epidermal surface is very irregular a flat electrode pressed onto it would be in contact at only a few points. Leading to a high current density at these points. 6. Further, the epidermal surface has a high electrical resistance because it is largely dry keratin, and because of the presence of oily sebum. This resistance is lowered by wetting the skin surface
- 5. TISSUE IMPEDANCE • Impedance -resistance of the tissue to the passage of electrical current. • Bone and fat are high-impedance tissues; nerve and muscle are low-impedance • If a low-impedance tissue is located under a large amount of high- impedance tissue current will never become high enough to cause a depolarization
- 6. TYPES OF ELECTRODES • A malleable metal electrode such as tinplate or aluminium coupled to the skin with water retained in a pad of lint, cotton gauze or some form of sponge material, e.g. Spontex
- 7. • The water provides the uniform ion containing low-resistance pathway for the current while the absorbent material simply serves to keep the water in place. • Ordinary tap water is suitable in most instances but in some soft-water areas a little salt or bicarbonate of soda may need to be added. • The whole assembly is fixed in place by a strap, bandage or by suction. • The thickness of the pad needed, and hence the quantity of water, depends on the irregularity of the skin surface and on whether significant chemical changes will occur. • If the latter is the case then about 1.25cm (16 thicknesses of lint) is considered an appropriate thickness. Otherwise rather thinner (0.5—1 cm) wet thickness seems to be sufficient for most treatments
- 8. CURRENT DENSITY • Current Density- - Refers To The Volume Of Current In The Tissues • Highest At Surface And Diminishes In Deeper Tissue
- 9. ALTERING CURRENT DENSITY • Change The Spacing Of Electrodes -Moving Further Apart Increases Current Density In Deeper Tissues
- 10. ACTIVE VS. DISPERSIVE ELECTRODES • Changing The Size Of The Electrode • Active Electrode Is The Smaller of The Two - Current Density Is Greater • Dispersive Electrode Is The Larger - Current Density Is Less
- 11. • Thus if two pads are of unequal size, most effect will occur close to the smaller one, which is called the active electrode. • The other electrode is called the indifferent or dispersive electrode. • In order to limit the effects to an area such as the motor point of a muscle, the active electrode can be a small metal disc covered with lint or other suitable material and attached to a handle. • This is often called a button electrode.
- 12. 2 . The second system involves electrodes that will conform to the body surface more easily than the metal electrodes . These are made of carbon-impregnated silicone rubber may be used with sponge pads or coupled to the skin by a thin layer of conducting gel and fixed in place either with a strap or adhesive tape. Metal electrodes are somewhat more efficient in passing current to the tissues than carbon rubber and other similar types in that they have a lower impedance (Nelson et at., 1980).
- 13. However, carbon rubber appear, on the whole, to have lower impedance than many other commercially available polymer electrodes, some of which exhibit remarkably high impedance (nolan,1991). 3. The third system is by means of a water bath (or baths) in which the body part is immersed with an electrode. Current is passed from electrode to tissues through the water. This system is considered later.
- 14. WATER BATHS The hand, forearm, foot and leg can conveniently be put into baths or bowls of water with electrodes to provide a means of passing current to the tissues. Such an arrangement can be used to provide a large area for an indifferent electrode
- 15. They can also be used as a method of applying muscle-stimulating currents. If two electrodes are placed in the same water bath with the part to be treated, current will pass both through the water and through the tissues — two pathways in parallel. The current density in the tissues is critically dependent on the position of the two electrodes in the bath and on the relative resistance of the two paths. Such a system, called a faradic foot bath, is often used to stimulate the intrinsic muscle of the foot for reeducation.
- 16. UNIPOLAR AND BIPOLAR 1. With both electrodes in the same bath, is referred to as ‘bipolar’ 2. If one electrode is in the bath and the circuit is completed by a pad electrode or an electrode in another bath it is called ‘unipolar’. 3. It may be noted that adding salt to a unipolar bath results in a greater current passing through the tissues because it lowers the resistance in series thus reducing the total resistance. 4. Adding salt to a bipolar bath will decrease the current through the tissues since greater current will now pass in the parallel water pathway due to its lowered resistance.
- 17. CURRENT FLOW IN THE TISSUES 1. The quantity of current that flows in the tissues and the path it follows will depend on the impedance of that pathway. 2. The impedance includes a. the ohmic resistance, b. capacitive resistance (or reactance) and c. inductive resistance. 3. The first two has an important influence on the effects of the electrical stimulation. 4. Watery tissue such as blood, muscle and nerve has low ohmic resistance; 5. Bone and fat has rather higher; and 6. Epidermis has the highest of all.
- 18. 7. The ohmic resistance is determined therefore chiefly by the thickness and nature of the skin under the electrodes and, to a much lesser extent, by the inter-electrode distance. 8. Where two low-resistance regions are separated by a high-resistance region, i.e. A near insulator, a capacitor is formed and capacitive effects occur. Thus where an electrode is separated from nerve and muscle by skin and fat and there is a capacitor. 9. For direct current (unidirectional current) and slowly changing pulses of current the skin resistance is high and thus most of the electrical energy is released in the skin and subcutaneous tissues, hence cutaneous nerves are affected.
- 19. 10. As the current spreads through the low-resistance pathway of the deeper tissues it can have less effect. However, capacitive resistance diminishes for short pulses of current or alternating (biphasic) currents of higher frequencies, thus the current can pass through the skin more easily and relatively more energy is released in the deeper tissues. 11. This explains why short pulse (phase) lengths are able to penetrate the skin more easily. The effect occurs with both single pulses and alternating pulses of appropriate frequency.
- 20. INTENSITY • Increasing the intensity of the electrical stimulus causes the current to reach deeper into the tissue
- 21. RECRUITMENT OF NERVE FIBERS • A stimulus pulse at a duration-intensity just above threshold will excite the closest and largest fibers
- 22. RECRUITMENT OF NERVE FIBERS • Increasing the intensity will excite smaller fibers and fibers farther away. C, Increasing the duration will also excite smaller fibers and fibers farther away.
- 23. DURATION • We also can stimulate more nerve fibers with the same intensity current by increasing the length of time (duration) that an adequate stimulus is available to depolarize the membranes
- 24. POLARITY • Anode • Positive Electrode With Lowest Concentration of Electrons • Cathode • Negative Electrode With Greatest Concentration of Electrons • Polarity Switch Designates One Electrode As Positive and One As Negative
- 25. POLARITY • With AC Current and Interrupted DC Current Polarity Is Not Critical • Select Negative Polarity For Muscle Contraction • Facilitates Membrane Depolarization • Usually Considered More Comfortable • Negative Electrode Is Usually Positioned Distally
- 26. POLARITY WITH CONTINUOUS DC CURRENT • Important Consideration When Using Iontophoresis • Positive Pole • Attracts -ve Ions • Acidic Reaction • Hardening of Tissues • Decreased Nerve Irritability • Negative Pole • Attracts +ve Ions • Alkaline Reaction • Softening of Tissues • Increased Nerve Irritability
- 27. LOWERING THE ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE AT THE SKIN SURFACE • The electrical resistance of the epidermis is high. • It can be reduced by washing the surface to remove some of the keratin and seburn and leaving the skin wet. • Warming the skin also helps to lower its resistance by increasing the rate of particle and ionic movement, also perhaps increasing the activity of the sweat glands and blood flow. • Thus warming, washing and wetting the skin will allow larger currents to flow for the same applied voltage.
- 28. • It is important in maintaining the skin—electrode junction throughout treatment is essential. • If the adhesion of the electrode to the skin surface alters, or the pressure of sponge or pad decreases, this can lead to a higher resistance; • Consequently the fixation of the electrodes to the body surface is very important in keeping a constant uniform low resistance at this junction.
- 29. Thank You….!