Review of Electrotherapy Devices for Use in Veterinary Medicine

1. Introduction
Decades of rehabilitation work, combined with research and practical experience, has shown that the body does not necessarily rehabilitate itself in an effective way.^1–3  To improve the outcome of rehabilitation, the use of electrotherapy has been widely accepted in human medicine and is now becoming available to equine practitioners.

Electrical current is applied to surface electrodes to produce controlled movement of the skin, muscle, tendon, and associated ligaments. Some of the important advantages of electrotherapy have included improved quality of healing and shortened rehabilitation time.¹  Veterinary practitioners have used electrotherapy in a limited manner and have reported successful outcomes.^{3– 6}

Examples of the benefits of electrotherapy treatments have included:

1. Pain relief caused by decreased spasticity of muscle.^7–12
2. Improved range of motion caused by reduced muscle tension.^13,14
3. Reduction in swellings caused by injury.^8,15
4. Reduction of scar tissue during healing.^16,17
5. Re-education of muscle function to prevent further injury.^{18 –20}
6. Strengthening of muscles and tendons.^14,18,21,22
7. Reversal of muscle wasting.^23–25
8. Decreased rehabilitation time after injury and surgery.^16,26,27

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