Interferential Therapy

This method of stimulating muscles with medium-frequency electrical currents is popular with chiropractors and with patients. This treatment regimen uses weak electrical currents to stimulate the body. It has been used to treat muscle pain, arthritis, sprains, edema, joint pain, and more.



Interferential therapy may be used alone or with other pain management techniques including manipulation and heat. It is used on back, neck, shoulder, and knee pain.


Please note that IF is not for all patients. It is not recommended for pregnant women, people with pacemakers, young children, or for adults with serious health problems. Be sure to discuss your health concerns with your chiropractor before beginning this, or any, chiropractic treatment.


What is Interferential Therapy?

Also known as Interferential Current Therapy, IF is a treatment that chiropractors use to help their patients who have acute or chronic pain to not only cope with the pain, but recover from it. Interferential therapy uses two electric currents passed through the body’s soft tissues. These currents are applied in such a way that they cross inside the body. When those currents interfere with each other they create an interference frequency that acts on soft tissues to provide some low-frequency stimulation. The exact interference frequency that results will depend on the input frequencies.


Interferential therapy uses two medium-strength currents, which can be varied for different therapeutic needs. Usually, one current will be at 400 Hertz and the other will be at 40. The different frequencies set up an interference current. Passing a low-frequency current through soft tissue is known to have therapeutic effects, which you can read about below.

How is Interferential Therapy Used?

Chiropractors use interferential therapy to treat a huge range of muscle, nerve, and joint conditions, as well as issues with blood circulation. The therapy may be used alone, but is often used in conjunction with other pain management techniques, such as cold therapy, and physical therapy techniques. The exact treatment regimen varies widely based on the nature and severity of a patient’s injuries and other variables.

TENS and Electrical Stimulation

  • Managing and Relieving Chronic or Acute Pain

    Interferential therapy is helpful in managing pain from a variety of syndromes and conditions, including pain associated with trauma and pain associated with conditions like arthritis. Sports injuries, muscle strains and sprains, and pain from damaged joints all respond to interferential treatment. Interferential current therapy also releases endorphins, which can help to speed the healing process.

  • Stimulating Muscles

    A patient's muscles may need stimulation that's not directly related to pain management or with recovery. Muscle disuse leads to weakness and loss of tissue in the unused muscles. Interferential therapy can be used to simulate normal activity to a degree and slow down muscle loss. Regular IF sessions may also preserve a patient's range of motion in an injured arm or leg. Finally, muscle stimulation via interferential therapy is a good option for treating muscle spasms.

  • Increasing Blood Flow

    Interferential treatment can also dilate blood vessels, which automatically helps with blood flow. This application of IF can obviously help relieve circulatory problems, by stimulating the nerves that open and constrict blood vessels.

  • Reducing Edema

    Swelling caused by fluids in the tissue can be a side effect of physical trauma. Regardless of cause, interferential therapy may be useful for reducing that swelling, which reduces discomfort.

  • Stimulating Soft Tissue Healing and Repair

    Interferential treatments may help with wound healing and with bone repair. The currents seem to help promote new bone growth around a fracture and cell repair.

Many people are familiar with TENS and probably know that TENS devices are great treatments for back pain. A TENS device provides a form of IF treatment through a device that sends electrical pulses through wires into electrodes on the patient’s back.



This is another example of using electrical muscle stimulation to manage or eliminate pain associated with injuries. Electrical stimulation also proves valuable to individuals who have suffered serious injuries that keep them partly immobile. Electrical muscle stimulation helps keep muscles from atrophying because of disuse.

Want to Learn More?

We are experienced in chiropractic treatment of a wide range of injuries and conditions. In addition to interferential therapy treatments, we are experienced in spinal decompression, cold therapy, heat therapy. Please don’t hesitate to call our Wadesville office at 812-673-4947 to schedule an appointment. We are happy to answer your questions and discuss your treatment options.

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