TECAR THERAPY

What is Tecar Therapy?

Diathermy, better known as Tecar therapy (an acronym for Capacitive and Resistive Energy Transfer), is a therapeutic technique that uses an electric current with frequencies in the MF (Medium Frequencies) radio band. It transfers energy in depth, through the tissues of the human body, triggering a biostimulating effect.
This is a therapy that is carried out in a medical practice, usually by a physiotherapist, on patients with a variety of pathologies, requiring rehabilitation, sports and also aesthetic treatment.

The very first applications of diathermy, limited to the development of endogenous heat, date back to 1939, when William Beaumont developed the first instrument capable of generating heat endogenously, thus coining the term “diathermy”. The name has Greek origins, literally meaning “heat through”.
Tecar therapy specifically, and diathermy in its broadest and technically correct sense, was patented in 1995. This year represents a milestone in the study and application of this technique in the therapeutic field.

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How Tecar Therapy Works

The physical principle on which diathermy is based is that of the capacitor.

The capacitor consists of two conductive armatures separated by an insulator and connected to an electric generator that creates a potential difference between the two plates.
This causes electrical charges to attract and repel each other concentrating near the two elements , increasing the density of positive charge in one plate and negative charge in the other.
In the case of a diathermy device, the armatures are represented by the handpiece (capacitive or resistive) and the return plate, while high-strength body tissue constitutes the insulation.
The current generator works in the long-wave radio frequency range and with a variable power in W.

In this way, there is no emission of external energy, but only a development of endogenous or internal energy at the level of the biological tissue, produced by the movement of ions and electrolytes, induced by the forces of attraction and repulsion generated between the two capacitor plates.
The ability to generate a current flow through an insulator, and to exploit tissues as focal elements of the therapeutic effect, is a differentiating feature of tecar therapy when compared with other techniques. Diathermy, in fact, is also extremely effective in depth, where other exogenous instrumental physical therapies lose their effectiveness.

Is tecar therapy effective?

Now that we’ve defined the mechanism, you’re probably wondering: “Does tecar therapy work?”
With almost 30 years of history and thousands of clinical studies to support it, to date we can say that diathermy has excellent therapeutic effects. It is one of the most powerful physical therapies, as it is able to transfer more energy per unit of time to the human body.
Through the electromagnetic energy/tissue interaction, diathermy is able to produce a temperature increase that occurs in a uniform and controlled manner within the tissue.
This electromagnetic interaction results in the appearance of an ionic flux with a micro-hyperemia that favours the release of endogenous substances (especially cortisol and endorphins) that reduce pain, oedema and inflammation.
Diathermy, therefore, stimulates increased blood flow directly through increased temperature and indirectly through the demand for oxygen by the treated tissues. The increased blood supply boosts normal immune defences and stimulates tissue regeneration, shortening motor recovery times.

How long does it work?

A diathermy cycle usually lasts 10 sessions. Sessions are usually carried out two to three times a week. The first results can already be seen after the first treatment, although for obvious reasons they cannot remain stable for long. At least four to five sessions are required to achieve good, long-lasting results even in the days following the treatment.

Which areas of the body?

In general, diathermy can be applied to any part of the body, except for those forbidden to most physical therapies such as glandular areas, axillary cavity, pubis and genital organs, sternum, supraclavicular and subclavicular fossa, iliac crest, tibial crest.

The treatment of bony eminences is only possible with particular care in terms of both the technique used and the mode of operation due to the resistance of the bone to the passage of current, which leads to a sudden increase in temperature in the area.

Parts of the body subject to problems that can benefit most from a diathermy treatment are shoulder, elbow, hand, wrist, spine, cervical, back, lumbar, sacral, knee, ankle, foot.

Which pathologies do we recommend it for?

As mentioned above, diathermy is an effective technique for treating all types of pathology, acute, subacute and chronic. Among the main ones:
– tendinitis,
– tendinosis,
– joint pain,
– muscle contracture,
– muscle strain,
– bruise,
– epicondylitis,
– Golfer’s elbow,
– neck pain,
– low back pain,
– lumbosciatica,
– slipped disc,
– whiplash,
– gonarthrosis,
– chondropathy,
– distortion,
– ACL, LCL, MCL injuries.

The benefits

We can summarise the benefits of diathermy in five main points:

1. Fast-onset analgesic effect
Related to biostimulation and the endogenous thermal component that reduces the ability to perceive and transmit pain.
2. Rapid and medium onset anti-inflammatory effect.
Biostimulation promotes endogenous healing processes.
3. Biostimulating effect
The supply of energy and micro-vascularisation (in athermia treatment) and deep vascularisation promote both healing processes and the supply of nutrients. They also promote the drainage of catabolites by normalising cellular biological processes.
4. Myorelaxant effect
The maximum effect is obtained in a moderately hyperthermic or hyperthermic treatment, which triggers a direct viscosity-reducing effect at the muscular level. It also promotes deep vascularisation and normalisation of biological processes.
5. Restores vascularization
It is mainly related to the endogenous hyperthermic effect. It elevates the blood flow in the treatment areas, increasing the volume of the available capillary bed, thus favouring the optimisation of endogenous metabolic processes.

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