Electrical therapy refers to TENS, EMS, FARADIC and NEMS modalities.
TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical therapy and is commonly used to treat both acute and chronic pain. It helps to decrease pain by stimulating the pain gate theory and increasing the release of endogenous opioids. This helps to block the pain messages that are preserved in the brain.
NEMS stands for neuromuscular electrical stimulation and is used to stimulate muscle activation. It works by depolarizing the motor nerves and stimulating a muscle contraction. It is commonly used to stimulate and re-educate muscles in patients affected by neurological and orthopedic conditions, it helps to address muscle atrophy and asymmetries. The faradic is a NEMS modality that is used in horses and the EMS machine is more commonly used in small animals.