Purpose In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of capacitive and resistive electric transfer therapy in patients with chronic low back pain. Participants and Methods The study ...included 24 patients with chronic low back pain (12 patients each in the intervention and sham groups). Pain intensity, superficial and deep lumbar multifidus stiffness and maximum forward trunk flexion and associated activation level of the iliocostalis (thoracic and lumbar component) and lumbar multifidus muscles were measured. Results Post-intervention pain intensity and muscle stiffness were significantly lower than pre-intervention measurements in the intervention group. However, no between-group difference was observed in the muscle activation level at the end-point of standing trunk flexion. Conclusion Our findings highlight a significant therapeutic benefit of capacitive and resistive electric transfer therapy in patients with chronic low back pain and muscle stiffness.
The effects of thermotherapy on autonomic nervous system activity and subjective sensations of fatigue and arousal are unclear. This study compared the effects of capacitive and resistive electric ...transfer (Cret) interventions (deep thermotherapy) and hot packs (superficial thermotherapy) on autonomic nervous system activity in healthy young women (n = 16). Heart rate and RR interval were measured using electrocardiography, and the coefficient of variation (CV) of the RR interval was used to evaluate autonomic nervous system activity. The subjective relaxation effect was evaluated using the Roken Arousal Scale (RAS) - a fatigue arousal index. The intervention was performed on the lumbar region for 20 minutes for both Cret and hot pack. After each intervention, the CV values increased only in the Cret condition, whereas the heart rate decreased in both conditions. This suggests that parasympathetic activity was enhanced in the Cret condition. In contrast, the subjective relaxation evaluation observed a psychological relaxation effect under both conditions. Our results suggest that Cret application in the lumbar region has greater relaxation effects than hot pack application in the same region.
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IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Capacitive and resistive electric transfer (CRET) therapy can improve flexibility and increase muscle activity and may be useful as a warm-up technique. This study examined the effects of short-time ...CRET on jump performance. Thirty healthy men (age range, 20-40 years) were randomly divided into passive (
= 15) and active (
= 15) warm-up groups. The participants and statisticians were blinded to the participant allocation. The passive warm-up group underwent 4 min of CRET therapy on their posterior lower legs. The active warm-up group performed stretching and jogging for 4 min. Calf muscle temperature and rebound jump (RJ) index were measured before and after the intervention. The mean (± standard deviation) muscle temperature increased by 2.0 ± 0.5°C and 1.4 ± 0.6°C in the passive and active warm-up groups, respectively (
< 0.05). RJ index increased significantly in both groups (
< 0.05). Therefore, passive warm-up using CRET may help avoid energy loss while increasing the muscle temperature in a short time when compared with traditional active warm-up techniques.
Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the effects of Capacitive and Resistive electric transfer (CRet) and hotpack (HP) on haemoglobin saturation and tissue temperature.
Materials and methods: The ...participants were 13 healthy males (mean age 24.5 ± 3.0). They underwent three interventions on different days: (1) CRet (CRet group), (2) HP (HP group) and (3) CRet without power (sham group). The intervention and measurement were applied at the lower paraspinal muscle. Indiba
®
active ProRecovery HCR902 was used in the CRet group, and the moist heat method was used in the HP group. Oxygenated, deoxygenated and total haemoglobin (oxy-Hb, deoxy-Hb, total-Hb) counts were measured before and after the 15-min interventions, together with the temperature at the skin surface, and at depths of 10 mm and 20 mm (ST, 10mmDT and 20mmDT, respectively). The haemoglobin saturation and tissue temperature were measured until 30 min after the intervention and were collected at 5-min intervals. Statistical analysis was performed for each index by using the Mann-Whitney U test for comparisons between all groups at each time point.
Results: Total-Hb and oxy-Hb were significantly higher in the CRet group than in the HP group continuously for 30 min after the intervention. The 10mmDT and 20mmDT were significantly higher in the CRet group than in the HP group from 10- to 30 min after intervention.
Conclusions: The effect on haemoglobin saturation was higher in the CRet group than in the HP group. In addition, the CRet intervention warmed deep tissue more effectively than HP intervention.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Capacitive and resistive electric transfer (CRET) therapy is a physical treatment modality commonly used to treat musculoskeletal pain. It normally uses a longwave radiofrequency of ~0.5 MHz. The ...system consists of a neutral plate and two different electrodes that can transfer energy in two modalitiescapacitive and resistive. The aim of this systematic review was to identify and summarize the available data in the literature on this physical modality. From a search of articles published before December 2019 in MEDLINE and Scopus indexed journals, we retrieved 276 articles, 13 of which met the inclusion criteria for this review. Most articles dealt with musculoskeletal disorders, mainly spine disorders and knee osteoarthritis. More than 75% of the studies used a similar range of frequency (440–600 KHz). Almost all described an improvement in strength and function and reduced pain intensity after the treatment. Although nine of the 13 studies (70%) were randomized controlled trials, only two had a low risk of bias according to the Cochrane library assessment tool. CRET seems to be an effective therapy to decrease pain, and improve the quality of life and disability of patients affected by musculoskeletal disorders. There is no study on symptoms of patients with neurological disorders. Further research is necessary to standardize the therapeutic protocols across different orthopedic diseases, and to assess the benefits of CRET in other fields such as neurological or rheumatologic disorders.
Capacitive and resistive electric transfer (CRET) therapy is used to reduce pain and improve functional disability, and the effect on low back pain remains to be investigated. This study aimed to ...examine the immediate effect on the onset time of the muscles after irradiating CRET therapy for non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP). Thirty patients with NSCLBP were randomly divided into an intervention group (n = 15) and a sham group (n = 15). Participants and statisticians were blinded to participant allocation. The intervention group received one 15-minute session of CRET therapy on their lower back; the sham group similarly received one 15-minute session of sham therapy. Before and immediately after the intervention, the onset time of the trunk and lower limb muscles was measured during prone hip extension, and pain intensity was recorded using a visual analog scale. The intervention group showed a significant reduction in pain and a significantly earlier onset time of the thoracic part of the iliocostalis lumborum, lumbar part of the iliocostalis lumborum, lumbar multifidus, and gluteus maximus. These results showed that CRET therapy not only reduced pain, but also facilitated trunk muscle activity. Improvement in muscle activity patterns may improve activities of daily living. This study was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network in Japan (UMIN-CTR: 000046301).
Objective
Capacitive and resistive electric transfer therapy (CARE) reduces pain and improves quality of life for many orthopaedic degenerative and inflammatory disorders. The research aim was to ...determine the effects of CARE on painful shoulder. The outcomes were pain reduction and recovery of shoulder function.
Methods
A retrospective, observational case-control study was conducted. Participants were 46 patients (22 in the CARE group and 24 in the SHAM group). Clinical data, pain (visual analogic scale, VAS) and functional scale scores (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand scale, and Constant–Murley Scale) were measured at baseline T0 (before treatment), T1 (after treatment) and follow-up T2 (2 months after the end of the treatment).
Results
VAS scores in the CARE group improved from 7.23 ± 1.11 at baseline to 2.68 ± 0.99 at follow-up. The SHAM group did not experience any improvement. Similarly, functional scale scores improved in the CARE group compared with the SHAM group.
Conclusion
Considering the small number of sessions needed, low cost and long-term benefits, CARE could be a useful therapeutic option for the conservative management of shoulder pain to restore pain-free and powerful movement to the shoulder joint.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Capacitive and Resistive electric transfer (CRet)-combined exercise therapy for participants with non-specific chronic low back pain ...(NSCLBP). Twenty-six received only the exercise program (E group, n = 15), or received both CRet and the same exercise program (E+CRet group, n = 11). Pain intensity, functional disability and trunk function were measured pre-, and post-intervention and there was also a 1-month follow-up period. Data analysis was performed for each index using the Mann-Whitney U test for comparisons between two groups at each time point, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for comparison between each time point within the group. The results of this study indicate that pain intensity was improved in both groups at post-intervention, also, the effect continued during follow-up period. In addition, functional disability was significantly improved in the E+CRet group at the post-intervention and during the follow-up period. The intervention effect on NSCLBP was higher in the E+CRet group than the E group. CRet, which is a form of deep thermotherapy, combined with exercise have a possibility of more effectiveness than exercise alone.
Chronic non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP) is defined as back pain that lasts longer than 12 weeks. Capacitive and resistive electric transfer (TECAR) therapy utilizes radiant energy to generate ...endogenous heat and is widely used for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of manual therapy (MT) program combined with TECAR therapy in individuals with CNSLBP.
Sixty adults with CNSLBP were randomly divided equally into three groups. The first group followed an MT protocol in the lumbar region (MT group), the second group followed the same MT protocol combined with TECAR therapy (MT + TECAR group) using a conventional capacitive electrode as well as a special resistive electrode bracelet, and the third group (control group) received no treatment. Both intervention programs included six treatments over two weeks. Pain in the last 24 h with the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), functional ability with the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), pressure pain threshold (PPT) in the lumbar region with pressure algometry, and mobility of the lumbo-pelvic region through fingertip-to-floor distance (FFD) test were evaluated before and after the intervention period with a one-month follow-up. Analysis of variance with repeated measures was applied.
In the NPRS score, both intervention groups showed statistically significant differences compared to the control group both during the second week and the one-month follow-up (
< 0.001). Between-group differences were also noticed between the two intervention groups in the second week (
< 0.05). Differences in the RMDQ score were detected between the intervention groups and the control group in the second week and at the one-month follow-up (
< 0.001), while differences between the two intervention groups were only detected at the one-month follow-up (
< 0.001). Regarding the PPT values, differences were found mainly between the MT + TECAR group and the control group and between the MT + TECAR group and the MT group (
< 0.05), with the MT + TECAR group in most cases showing the greatest improvement compared to the other two groups, which remained statistically significant at the one-month follow-up (
< 0.05). Finally, both intervention groups improved the mobility of the lumbo-pelvic region at both time points compared to the control group without, however, statistically significant differences between them (
> 0.05).
The application of an MT protocol with TECAR therapy appeared more effective than conventional MT as well as compared to the control group in reducing pain and disability and improving PPT in individuals with CNSLBP. No further improvement was noted in the mobility of the lumbo-pelvic region by adding TECAR to the MT intervention.
Chest wall mobility decreases with age in community-dwelling women aged 65 years or older. Thermotherapy is used to improve soft-tissue extensibility. However, its effects on chest wall mobility are ...unclear. This study aimed to examine the effect of thermotherapy on chest wall mobility in healthy elderly women. Twenty-eight elderly women participated in this study. Chest wall mobility at three levels (axillary, xiphoid, and tenth rib), respiratory function (forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume), and tissue temperature (skin temperature (ST)) and deep temperature (DT) with 10 mm and 20 mm depth from the skin (10 mm DT and 20 mm DT)) were measured before and after 15 minutes of thermotherapy. The subjects randomly received one of the three interventions (capacitive and resistive electric transfer (CRet), hot pack (HP), and sham CRet (sham)). Chest wall mobility at all levels significantly increased after CRet intervention. Hot pack significantly increased tenth rib excursion; it also significantly increased ST, 10 mm DT, and 20 mm DT, whereas CRet significantly increased 10 mm DT and 20 mm DT. There were significant differences between CRet, HP, and sham in ST, 10 mm DT, and 20 mm DT. Furthermore, 20 mm DT had increased more in CRet than in HP. CRet improved chest wall mobility at all levels and HP improved at the tenth rib level. This implies that CRet can be one of the approaches to improve chest wall mobility.
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