If there’s any therapy out there in the market that can do wonders of a surgery without having to do surgery it’s interferential Therapy. Also known as Physiotherapy IFT, this therapy is a non-invasive method which means it doesn’t involve cutting and surgery. IFT deals with pain relief and tissue repair. The technique involves two electrical currents with different frequencies passing through the treated area. The current becomes interferential and interacts with nerve cells and tissue to reduce swelling, relieve spasms and muscles. It also promotes quick healing. This interferential current therapy was first introduced by Dr. Nemec in the early 1950’s.

IFT physiotherapy benefits

There’s a whole big list of benefits that IFT therapy in physiotherapy offers. We will discuss that below. What IFT basically does is it relies on low-frequency electrical stimulation to treat nerves and muscles.

Pain and Inflammation Reduction

IFT effectively reduces pain and inflammation. That’s why IFT treatment physiotherapy is best for conditions such as arthritis, sports injuries, and post-surgical pain.

Increased Blood Circulation

Physiotherapy IFT promotes better circulation. It helps in healing and recovery by delivering oxygen and nutrients to affected areas. IFT also decreases blood pressure helping patients with hypertension.

Vasodilation

IFT induces vasodilation, or the widening of blood vessels. It helps improve blood flow and reduce swelling.

Waste Removal

By improving circulation and metabolic processes, IFT helps to remove waste products and toxins from the affected tissues. This way it helps with faster healing.

Increased Metabolic Rate

The electrical stimulation increases the metabolic rate. It helps with tissue repair and regeneration.

Treatment of Chronic Ligamentous Lesions

Interferential currents are effective in treating chronic ligament injuries. It stimulates the tissue and promotes faster healing.

Edema and Hematoma Healing

IFT is effective in reducing swelling (edema). It promotes the absorption of hematomas (bruises).

Joint Mobility

For those with restricted joint movement, IFT can help improve flexibility. It restores normal movement patterns.

Increased Muscle Stimulation

By stimulating muscles, IFT helps maintain muscle tone and function. It is usually done after injury or surgery.

Restoring Lost Muscle Movement

IFT helps with restoring lost movement by stimulating paralyzed or weakened muscles. It promotes their recovery and functionality.

Diseases IFT Physiotherapy Treats

IFT physiotherapy promotes healing and pain relief. It helps with chronic pain management and injury recovery. Because it uses interferential currents, it effectively manages pain, reduces inflammation, and improves mobility. Below is a list of diseases and conditions physiotherapy IFT can help you with:

Pain Relief in Neural Conditions

IFT therapy in physiotherapy helps reduce pain from nerve-related conditions. It eases intense burning pain known as causalgia that occurs after a nerve injury. It helps with shingles, reducing the nerve pain and inflammation caused by the herpes virus. Not only that, IFT makes neuralgia less severe, which is sharp, shooting nerve pain, and promotes relaxation in the affected nerve areas.

Cervical Spondylosis

Physiotherapy IFT treats cervical spondylosis. Think of it as arthritis in the neck. IFT helps to reduce this neck stiffness, ease muscle spasms, and gradually lessen chronic pain.

Osteoarthritis of the Knee

In knee osteoarthritis, IFT helps loosen and relax the tendons around the knee joint. It reduces inflammation and encourages the release of endorphins. This relieve pain and promote healing in the muscles and tendons.

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of inflammatory arthritis that affects the spine. IFT (interferential therapy) reduces inflammation and pain in the vertebrae. It decreases muscle stiffness and prevents muscle loss in the affected areas for faster recovery.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

IFT helps manage rheumatoid arthritis by relieving joint pain, lowering inflammation, and improving joint movement. These benefits are important for improving daily activities and comfort in the affected joints.

Frozen Shoulder

IFT can help with frozen shoulders, which causes pain and stiffness in the shoulder joint. This therapy reduces pain, lowers inflammation, and improves movement. All of this helps long-term recovery.

Disc Herniation

IFT helps disc herniation issue by reducing nerve pain, relaxing the muscles around the spine, and improving blood flow. This helps lower the pressure on the herniated disc. As a result, get instant pain relief and faster recovery.

Spinal Canal Stenosis

Interferential Therapy (IFT) helps reduce pain from nerve pressure caused by spinal canal stenosis. It improves blood flow and relaxes the muscles around the spine to support easy movement.

Muscle Stimulation for Muscle Maintenance

IFT prevents muscle loss, supports muscle retraining, and keeps the range of motion. All of this helps with post injuries or surgeries. It also helps with stress incontinence by helping with maintaining muscle strength and control.

Edema Reduction

Edema is a condition when there is too much fluid in the body tissues. IFT helps improve blood flow. It reduces swelling, and drains fluid from the affected areas to combat Edema and give you a quicker recovery.

Muscle Injuries

IFT helps with muscle injuries by relieving pain, improving blood flow, and reducing swelling. It makes the process of recovery faster so that you heal the damaged muscle tissues quickly.

Ligamentous Injuries

Interferential Therapy (IFT) helps with ligament injuries to reduce pain and swelling. It fastens the healing by improving blood flow to the injured ligaments. Improved blood flow, as a result, helps with quick recovery from ligament strains and tears.

Types of Machines Used in IFT Treatment Physiotherapy

There are two types of machines used in IFT treatments for pain relief and wellness. Let’s talk about them below in detail.

Professional IFT Machines 

Professional IFT machines are advanced and that’s why they are only found in clinics or hospitals. These machines provide precise control over treatment. They let operators adjust the intensity and frequency of the electrical currents to achieve the best pain relief. By customizing the frequency settings allows for better treatment of specific injuries and body areas, they treat complex conditions that need careful adjustments and supervision. 

Portable IFT Machines 

Portable IFT machines are light and easy to use, even for people with little training. Although they don’t have all the controls of professional machines, they help with pain relief. These machines are made for home use. Patients can continue their therapy between clinic visits by opting to these. They often have preset settings or simple controls to make sure they are easy and safe for people with no medical knowledge.

 

Types of IFT Therapies for Pain Relief and Wellness

Up til now you know that IFT therapy in physiotherapy reduces pain. It uses special electrical signals to make you feel better. There are different ways to change these signals, which helps with different kinds of pain. Next, we’ll talk about how IFT works and how it can help you feel good.

Vector Effect

This therapy rotates the treatment area at a 45° angle, allowing for stimulation of a wider area. It’s effective for widespread pain or unclear injuries by reaching difficult-to-target spots, offering relief in complex pain situations.

Frequency Swings

Some interferential therapy (IFT) devices allow users to adjust the speed and pattern of frequency swings. They can either swing from 0 to 100 Hz over 5 to 10 seconds or hold a frequency for 1 to 6 seconds before switching. This variability in frequencies prevents the body from adapting, maintaining IFT treatment physiotherapy effectiveness for various tissues.

Constant Frequency

This therapy employs a fixed interference frequency during treatment, effectively targeting multiple tissue types. The steady frequency ensures consistent stimulation, minimizing tissue accommodation and providing more effective, lasting pain relief.

Frequency Sweepa

Frequency sweep adjusts stimulation frequency over a defined range, improving physiological effects while preventing tissue adaptation. Various sweep patterns—triangular, rectangular, or trapezoidal—provide tailored pain relief and stimulation.

a.    Triangular Sweep Pattern

In the triangular pattern, frequencies shift gradually from base to top over 6 seconds, evenly covering the range. This smooth transition helps patients who benefit from gentle, continuous stimulation.

b.    Rectangular Sweep Pattern

The rectangular pattern alternates sharply between two set frequencies, providing unique stimulation by quickly switching between them, which may better target tissues sensitive to rapid frequency changes.

c.    Trapezoidal Sweep Pattern

The trapezoidal sweep combines gradual and abrupt frequency changes, merging triangular and rectangular patterns. This versatile approach adapts to complex cases by using both continuous and intermittent stimulation methods for pain relief.

Easy Explanation of How IFT Physiotherapy Works

Interferential Therapy (IFT) uses low-frequency electrical currents delivered through electrodes on the body to relieve pain, stimulate muscles, and improve circulation. It combines two slightly different frequencies (around 4000 Hz) that create a “beat frequency” penetrating deep tissue. Low frequencies (0-10 Hz) improve circulation and tissue stimulation for acute pain. Mid-range frequencies (10-50 Hz) promote muscle contractions for recovery. High frequencies (90-150 Hz) target nerve fibers to block pain signals quickly. Adjusting these frequencies helps with treating pain management and muscle rehabilitation accurately.

The effectiveness of Interferential Therapy (IFT) relies on controlling the intensity and placing the electrodes correctly. The therapist adjusts the current’s intensity to ensure comfort, shifting from a tingling feeling to gentle muscle contractions when needed. Proper electrode placement helps the current reach the intended tissue, improving the therapy’s effectiveness. For larger areas of pain, a mode called dynamic vector sweep is used, and different waveforms are chosen based on how old the injury is and how sensitive it is. This adaptability makes IFT a valuable option for personalized pain relief and recovery.

Who Should Undergo IFT Physiotherapy?

Interferential therapy is a safe treatment. You might feel a slight tingling or buzzing in the area being treated. The helper can adjust the feeling to make it stronger or lighter based on your preference. The number of sessions you need depends on what you’re treating and how your body responds. Some people feel better after a few sessions, while others may need more. So, it’s better to consult an expert. Below is a list of people who can seek this therapy.

Chronic Pain Patients

There’s IFT physiotherapy for back pain as well. Individuals suffering from chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, or chronic low back pain should go for IFT. It helps to reduce pain, improve mobility, and improve overall quality of life. It stimulates the muscles and nerves to give you pain relief.

Injured Athletes

Athletes often face injuries, muscle fatigue, and inflammation. IFT helps with these issues, by speeding up recovery, and improving muscle function. It helps reduce swelling, promote faster healing, and improve blood flow to the affected areas. Not only that, IFT can be used to improve muscle contractions for better performance.

Acute Injury People

IFT also helps those who are recovering from acute injuries such as sprains, strains, or fractures. It helps reduce pain and inflammation while promoting the healing process. This way it gives you immediate relief during the recovery period, speeding up the restoration of normal function.

Aged People

Older adults experience age-related pain, stiffness, or difficulty in recovering from surgeries. IFT is a safe and non-invasive treatment to help them make their pain less severe. By undergoing it, they reduce muscle stiffness, and improve overall mobility. It can also help in rehabilitation after surgery by improving their circulation and reducing inflammation.

Peripheral Neuropathy Patients

IFT treats Peripheral neuropathy, which causes numbness, tingling, or pain in the extremities. The therapy stimulates the nerves and helps make the pain less severe. As a result, it improves sensation and pain over time.

Tension Headaches Patients

IFT is a useful treatment for people dealing with tension headaches, especially those caused by muscle tightness in the neck and shoulders. IFT can reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches by reducing muscle tension and promoting relaxation.

Joint Pain Patients

IFT makes the pain less severe and reduces inflammation when it comes to joint pain. For example, those with rheumatoid arthritis or other inflammatory joint conditions. It improves joint mobility and reduces stiffness for better movement and function.

Who Should Not Undergo IFT Physiotherapy?

Although IFT is a helpful treatment for pain in many situations, it is not right for everyone. There are some cases where this therapy should not be used because it can be risky.

Pregnant Women

IFT should not be used over the uterus during pregnancy, as the effects on the developing fetus are not well understood. It’s better to avoid IFT during menstruation as well due to potential discomfort or altered sensitivity.

Patients with Infective Conditions

IFT should not be used in areas affected by infection. Electrical stimulation can spread infection or worsen the condition.

Malignancy Patients

Patients with cancer should avoid IFT therapy over the affected area, as it may stimulate the growth of malignant cells.

Pacemakers Patients

People with pacemakers or any other implanted electronic devices should not use IFT due to the risk of interference with the device’s function.

Patients with Loss of Sensation

Individuals who have lost sensation in the area to be treated should avoid IFT, as they may not feel discomfort or any adverse reactions during the therapy.

Hemorrhage Sensitive Patients

People with a tendency to bleed or those with blood disorders should avoid IFT, as it may increase the risk of hemorrhage.

Patients with Large Open Wounds

Applying IFT to areas with large, open wounds can increase the risk of infection or worsen the wound.

Patients with Dermatological Conditions

Patients with severe dermatological conditions like eczema, psoriasis, or burns in the treatment area should avoid IFT until the skin condition improves.

Patients with Arterial Disease

Patients with arterial diseases should avoid IFT, as the therapy could alter blood circulation and cause adverse effects.

Patients with Febrile Conditions

Those experiencing fever should not undergo IFT, as it may worsen the symptoms or complicate the feverish condition.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Patients

IFT is contraindicated in individuals with DVT as the electrical stimulation could potentially cause the clot to dislodge.

Side Effects of IFT Physiotherapy

Interferential Therapy (IFT) is usually safe when done by trained professionals. However, like any medical treatment, it can have side effects. It’s important to know about these side effects to ensure the therapy works well and to reduce risks.

Skin Irritation at Electrode Sites

One of the most common side effects of interferential current therapy is skin irritation where the electrodes are placed. This irritation can include redness, itching, or a rash. It is usually mild and resolves after the treatment ends. However, if irritation persists or worsens, it’s important to inform your physiotherapist to adjust the electrode positioning or consider an alternative treatment.

Mild Discomfort During Treatment

Some patients may experience mild discomfort during IFT treatment. This can manifest as a tingling sensation, muscle twitching, or a feeling of tightness or heaviness in the affected area. While this discomfort is usually temporary and well-tolerated, it can be bothersome for some individuals. The intensity of the current may need to be adjusted to ensure comfort.

Allergic Reactions to Electrode Pads

Though rare, some individuals may experience an allergic reaction to the adhesive used in the electrode pads. Symptoms may include redness, swelling, or blistering at the electrode sites. If you suspect an allergy, it’s important to notify your physiotherapist so they can use alternative pads or adjust treatment methods.

Superficial Tissue Irritation

Using IFT machines with closely spaced electrodes can cause irritation in the superficial tissues, especially if the electrodes are too small or incorrectly positioned. Larger electrode systems are generally recommended for better coverage and to reduce irritation. The electrical currents may be uncomfortable, particularly if the stimulation frequency is too low, as it requires more energy to penetrate the skin and reach deeper tissues.

Conclusion

Interferential Therapy (IFT) helps relieve pain and heal the body without needing surgery. It uses gentle electric currents to make nerves and muscles feel better, which reduces pain and helps with recovery. IFT is safe and can be used for many different problems, making it a good choice for anyone wanting to feel better. Consult our physiotherapy Abu Dhabi at CMC today. Although IFT can offer relief for many individuals, it may not be suitable for everyone. We will tell you if  IFT is appropriate for your specific condition and needs. A tailored treatment plan will ensure the best outcomes based on your individual health status and treatment goals.

FAQs

What is IFT in physiotherapy?

Interferential Therapy (IFT) is a non-invasive treatment which means there is no surgery involved. This therapy gives pain relief and helps with tissue repair. Using low-frequency electrical currents to generate a frequency, it prepares a current that stops pain signals to transfer to the brain.

Does IFT have any side effects?

IFT in therapy is safe with no side effects usually. So if you have a pacemaker, infection, tumor, hypersensitivity to the gel electrodes, then you must not undergo this therapy to avoid side effects. We advise you to take precautions by consulting experts like CMC. Contact us today at our Abu Dhabi medical center.

How long is IFT treatment?

It depends on the cases whether they’re related to neck, shoulder, knee joint, back pain or any other. In most cases, the treatment takes up to 15 minutes.

Does IFT reduce swelling?

Yes, IFT reduces swelling by increasing blood flow to the area of pain. It also helps with blocking pain signals reaching your brain so that you don’t feel it.

Is IFT good for back pain?

Yes, there are benefits of IFT physiotherapy for back pain. IFT is very effective for back pain and chronic conditions. That’s why athletes undergo it a lot. It helps your back recover from injuries, improving circulation along with reducing inflammation.

How effective is IFT?

IFT strengthens your muscles as the machine creates beat frequency currents that stimulate muscle contractions. These currents stimulate muscle contractions, reducing inflammation, bruising, strain, and muscle spasms.

What is the IFT test used for?

IFT is a common diagnosis method for autoimmune diseases. Doctors suggest IFT when test antigens cannot be prepared for ELISA tests or blot tests.

When is IFT used?

It is used when a person can’t bear the pain of chronic conditions such as arthritis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and plantar fasciitis. IFT helps them without going through any surgery.

Does IFT physiotherapy cause pain?

Although it doesn’t cause pain, IFT machines often make the skin feel itchy or irritated. It’s because higher frequencies go through the skin quickly while lower ones take more energy and don’t go deep inside the skin.

What is the best frequency for IFT?

A frequency that creates less sound lies at 100-150Hz or 90-100Hz. It causes less itching and pain. These sounds block the signals that tell your brain you are in pain and also allow your body to release the natural painkillers for faster treatment.