Interferential current (IFC) is a medium frequency electrical stimulation used for pain relief when targeting deep tissue. Two sinusoidal waves are crossed and interfere with each other, creating a third vector to stimulate a larger area.
What is IFC electrical stimulation?
Interferential current therapy (ICT, or sometimes IFC) is the most common type of electrical muscle stimulation used to treat chronic pain resulting from surgery, injury or trauma. The end goal for using ICT as part of a physical therapy or rehab program is to relieve pain and help patients heal faster.
What is IFC on my TENS unit?
What is Interferential Current Therapy? IFC sends small amounts of electrical current through the skin to stimulate the tissues around an injured body part to promote pain relief and healing.
What is interferential estim?
Interferential current stimulation (IFS) is a type of electrical stimulation that uses paired electrodes of two independent circuits carrying high- frequency (4,000 Hz) and medium- frequency (150 Hz) alternating currents. The superficial electrodes are aligned on the skin around the affected area.
How does IFC block pain?
IFC utilises a medium frequency alternating current with a various beat frequency (Gomes et al. 2014), which is believed to reduce pain transmission through gate control mechanisms, release of endorphins, and increased circulation of opioids (Melzack and Wall 1967).
What is IFC used for?
IFC is an electronic device used to stimulate nerve endings in deep tissue in order to reduce swelling, relieve pain, stop muscle spasms, increase blood flow and support healing. IFC is a technology used to treat many muscle, soft tissue and nerve diseases or injuries, such as: Rheumatoid arthritis.
What is the full meaning of IFC?
What Is the International Finance Corporation ? The International Finance Corporation (IFC) provides financing of private-enterprise investment in developing countries around the world, through both loans and direct investments.
Does IFC work?
Fourteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. Conclusion: Interferential current as a supplement to another intervention seems to be more effective for reducing pain than a control treatment at discharge and more effective than a placebo treatment at the 3-month follow-up.
Is IFC better than TENS?
Research has shown that each is effective for different types of pain. For example, IFC has been shown to be more useful for short-term treatment of acute inflammatory pain. Conversely, TENS may be a better option for your patients with chronic pain .
Is IFC the same as EMS?
TENS, Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS – Russian Stim) Electrotherapy is an umbrella term that incorporates several different integrative medicine treatments, such as: interferential current (IFC) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).
Which is Better TENS or IFT?
Conclusion: Both TENS and IFT are equally effective in the relief of pain in primary dysmenorrhea. However, tolerance to IFT currents is better among young women as they are medium frequency currents.
What is interferential treatment?
Interferential therapy is the application of low frequency electrical current to stimulate nerve activity . This is designed to give you pain relief and increase blood flow to the injured area of your body.
What is IFT in physiotherapy side effects?
The use of IFT is generally considered safe with virtually no side effects . Precautions are, however, recommended in patients with pacemaker, local infection, tumours and hypersensitivity to the gel electrodes. The current case emphasises an unusual excessive morphine-like effect.
What is the effect of IFC on edema?
All IFC subjects reported significantly less pain and had significantly greater range of motion at all post-operative time points. ACL and menisectomy IFC subjects experienced significantly less edema at all time points, while chondroplasty subjects experienced significantly less edema until 4 weeks postoperatively.
Is NMES the same as tens?
As another example, TENS units are typically used for pain relief, while NMES units are used to retrain muscles after an injury, even though both TENS and NMES use similar stimulation waveforms .
