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Interferential Therapy – IFT – Non-invasive Pain Management Therapy

Even a minor pain like a headache or a pain due to some injury or sprain makes our life miserable even if it stays for a day or few. Imagine the life of those living with lifetime pain and discomforts due to a disease or condition, can’t even think about it? Well, thankfully there’s a non-invasive solution to this and that is – IFT – Interferential Therapy.

What is IFT?

A clinically approved treatment modality, IFT that stands for Interferential Therapy, is a highly recommended and practiced therapy by physiotherapists and pain specialists for treating muscle spasms and strains since many years now. It is a drug-free, non-invasive promotion of healing and pain relief.

Interferential Therapy or (IFT) is a type of electrotherapy treatments that use electric currents to stimulate tissue which provides pain relief, reduction of swelling and many other health benefits. IFT uses a range of frequencies which stimulate the body to get positive reactions such as increasing blood supply in an area which increases the healing speed.

IFT is used for Treating:

It has been shown that multiple daily treatments provide improved results. IFT treatment can help reduce pain, medication, and edema. Interferential machines can be used to treat pain associated with:

Back, Neck, and Shoulder Pain
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Osteoporosis
Spondylitis and Ankylosing Spondylitis
Bruising and Swelling
Postoperative Pain
Epicondylitis
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Plantar Fasciitis
Constipation
Fibromyalgia
Joint Injuries
Overuse Injuries and Surgical Procedures
Edema and Inflammation
Tennis Elbow
Sports Injuries

How does interferential therapy work?

Unlike TENS machines, which delivers intermittent pulses to stimulate surface nerves and block the pain signal, IFT machines deliver a continuous stimulation deep into the affected tissue. The stimulation both blocks pain and reduces swelling and inflammation which can cause pain.

IFT achieves the deep penetration by using a 4000Hz carrier wave to overcome the skin impedance.

4 pole interferential works by putting two signals into the tissue at slightly different frequencies. Where they cross over, the two signals “interfere” to produce a lower frequency, therapeutic current. In theory, this interference current is generated in the pattern shown in the diagram. In practice, the tissues do not conduct uniformly, so the currents rarely interfere in the expected target area. Therapists commonly use moveable electrodes to “hunt” for the best electrode positions.

Effects of Interference Frequencies

Physiotherapists believe that the low-frequency interference currents have the following effects:

2Hz – Around this frequency, the metencephalons are stimulated – resulting in short term pain relief.
10Hz -This frequency has a beneficial effect on the immune system and tends to make patients wakeful yet relaxed.
130Hz – This frequency stimulates the production of endorphins and results in longer-term pain relief and some local anaesthesia.
1-100Hz – This frequency sweep will increase the inflammatory rate.
45 – 90Hz – This frequency sweep will depress the sympathetic nervous system so allowing the increased activity of the parasympathetic system, and increase the blood supply.