Gentle Electrical Current Eases Neuropathic Pain

High-frequency electrical currents alleviate the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. In many cases, the effects are noticeable to the patients after a single session.21/11/2008

Because it stimulates muscle contraction, high-tone therapy can replace physical training. This method has proven to be especially helpful for patients with neuropathies. The West German Diabetes and Health Centre (WDGZ) in Düsseldorf has presented the results of a recent clinical trial involving more than 400 patients with diabetes-related nerve damage suffering from pain, numbness and a burning sensation in their feet. These patients underwent treatment for 30 minutes four times a week with home therapy units. As a result of this treatment, the WDGZ reported, the symptoms became less severe in 88 percent of the patients. "Both the intensity and the frequency of the tormenting symptoms decreased markedly during the treatment period," stated Professor Stephan Martin from the WDGZ. Diabetics with severe polyneuropathic symptoms and a high level of distress derived particular benefit from the treatment, he continued; patients who had often lain awake at night before treatment were now able to get a good night's sleep at last.

The positive results attained during the trial with high-tone therapy in patients with diabetic neuropathy were confirmed by Dr. Andreas Koch, a general practitioner in office practice in Cologne, on the basis of his own experience. Dr. Koch offers treatment with the new method to patients with neuropathy who have failed to respond to conventional drug therapy. "In my practice the first high-tone treatment is free of charge," Dr. Koch told the "Medica Today". If the patients suffering from neuropathic pain are convinced of the effectiveness of this method - and not before - he offers them a course of 10 treatments. After this initial series, the patients are treated at longer intervals only when symptoms recur.

Koch offers high-tone therapy to patients with pain due to degenerative arthritis in the hip or knee, for example, as well as to patients with neuropathies. To attain a lasting effect, he generally finds that ten 60-minute sessions are necessary. Especially high frequencies are required for this application. At these frequencies the method does not act as a muscle pump; instead, the electrical pulses stimulate metabolic activity in the joint, thus eliminating the mediators of inflammation. - Quelle: Ärzte Zeitung