TENS and EMS are commonly used for a range of outcomes including preserving muscle strength and size after injury or when immobilised and for the reduction of pain and improvement of recovery and tissue repair. More recently, microcurrent stimulation has also become popular for wound healing and recovering from injuries and reviews of the evidence suggest that microcurrent therapy can promote improved healing of both bone and soft tissue.1, 2
What is Microcurrent Therapy?
Microcurrent therapy, commonly known by the acronym MENS (microcurrent electric neuromuscular stimulation), involves the application of an imperceptible electric signal to an affected area of the body (not resulting in any contraction of muscle tissue). These usually involve microampere dosages, less than 1 milliampere, compared to TENS which uses amounts ~1 milliampere. Because there is no contraction of muscle, this is a safer approach for some joint injuries and wounds than TENS or EMS.
Microcurrent therapy presumes the principle that injured tissue produces abnormal electrical potentials, termed “injury potentials”. Microcurrent therapy purportedly re-establishes normal electrical balance to tissue, resulting in more rapid regeneration of tissue and return of normal function.2
Because there is no contraction of muscle, this is a safer approach for some joint injuries and wounds than TENS or EMS.
Is it effective?
Animal research has shown that the application of MENS to the skin adjacent to damaged connective tissue (like menisci, tendons, and ligaments) and muscle, can improve the rate of healing and encourage the cellular proliferation of tissue.3-7 It may also improve bone healing after a fracture.8 Microcurrent may elicit some of its effects by inducing greater numbers of bone-marrow-derived stem cells, and satellite cells to be available for tissue repair.7, 9
It may also improve bone healing after a fracture
Similar effects have been seen for wound healing with reduced time to healing for skin wounds observed (vs control) in rats,10 and rabbits,11 with more effective modulation of inflammatory markers, fibroblasts, and epithelial cells.
Microcurrent therapy has also been demonstrated to be more effective for encouraging wound-healing in burn wounds than negative-pressure wound therapy.12
In human studies, MENS-type therapy has improved wound closure and healing, along with reducing pain after mouth surgery.13 And in a (non-controlled study) resulted in reductions in wound-size, pain, and inflammation, and improvements in sleep quality, gait, and frequency of bowel movements in people with chronic wounds (i.e. diabetic ulcers).14
MENS-type therapy has improved wound closure and healing, along with reducing pain after mouth surgery
My experience with MENS
I recently completely separated my AC joint (suspected Grade V AC separation) while grappling. I began to use mild TENS (for around 10 minutes), followed by MENS (for around 20 minutes or more) using the Nurokor MiTouch device* in the evenings and noticed fairly immediate improvements in range of motion, pain, and swelling. These effects did not seem to be temporal because on days that I didn’t use the device, I didn’t notice the same effects and so, it didn’t appear to me to be due to solely the normal healing process and ‘time’.
…noticed fairly immediate improvements in range of motion, pain, and swelling
Conclusions
The early research for improvements in wound-healing and injury recovery from microcurrent therapy is very promising. More research needs to be performed, but as a relatively low-cost, non-invasive, drug-free therapy, microcurrent therapy (and TENS and EMS) should be considered to improve post-injury outcomes.
As a relatively low-cost, non-invasive, drug-free therapy, microcurrent therapy (and TENS and EMS) should be considered to improve post-injury outcomes
*Disclosure: One of my companies is the exclusive NZ distributor for the Nurokor range of medical devices.
References
1. Poltawski L, Watson T. Bioelectricity and microcurrent therapy for tissue healing – a narrative review. Physical Therapy Reviews. 2009;14(2):104-14.
2. Burgess TL, Lambert MI. Microcurrent therapy and the treatment of soft tissue injury : review article. International SportMed Journal. 2004;5(2):141-6.
3. Huang H, Liu J, Pen X. An experimental study on healing of injured avascular portion of meniscus under direct microcurrent stimulation. Chinese Journal of Experimental Surgery 1999(5):44.
4. Elsayed SEBA. The effect of microcurrent electical stimulation on tendon healing. 2010.
5. Kwon DR, Moon YS. Synergic regenerative effects of polydeoxyribonucleotide and microcurrent on full-thickness rotator cuff healing in a rabbit model. Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine. 2019.
6. Ahmed AF, Elgayed SSA, Ibrahim IM. Polarity effect of microcurrent electrical stimulation on tendon healing: Biomechanical and histopathological studies. Journal of Advanced Research. 2012;3(2):109-17.
7. Zickri MB, Abd El Aziz DH. Relation between microcurrent therapy and satellite cells in the regeneration of induced skeletal muscle injury in rat. Egyptian Journal of Histology. 2013;36(2):409-17.
8. Ko S-H, Yoon B-C, Kim J-S, Min K-O. Effects of Microcurrent and High Voltage Pulsed Galvanic Current Stimulation on Fibular Fracture Healing of the Rabbits. The Journal of the Korea Contents Association. 2011;11(10):286-92.
9. Zickri MB, Embaby A. The effect of microcurrent therapy on repair of induced tendon injury in albino rat: possible role of endogenous stem cells. Egyptian Journal of Histology. 2013;36(2):400-8.
10. Oh H-J, Kim J-W, Park J-S. The Effect of Microcurrent Stimulation on Wound Healing in Rat. Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology. 2008;6(1):43-55.
11. Kwon, Won A, P.T, M.S, Park, Rae J, et al. The Effects of Pulsed Electromagnetic Energy and Microcurrent on Wound Healing in Rabbits. J Kor Phys Ther. 2000;12(3):319-29.
12. Ibrahim ZM, Waked IS, Ibrahim O. Negative pressure wound therapy versus microcurrent electrical stimulation in wound healing in burns. Journal of Wound Care. 2019;28(4):214-9.
13. Miguel MMV, Mathias‐Santamaria IF, Rossato A, Ferraz LFF, Figueiredo‐Neto AM, de Marco AC, et al. Microcurrent electrotherapy improves palatal wound healing: Randomized clinical trial. Journal of Periodontology. 2020.
14. Nair HKR. Microcurrent as an adjunct therapy to accelerate chronic wound healing and reduce patient pain. Journal of Wound Care. 2018;27(5):296-306.
