Anodyne® Therapy
The Anodyne® Therapy System is an FDA-approved infrared medical device that increases circulation and decreases pain. The therapy is good for patients with neuropathy, wounds, pain, and any other condition that can be improved with the help of increased circulation.

Several pain studies involving over 1,000 patients have been done using Anodyne® Therapy.

The first study examined 784 patients with chronic pain unresponsive to ultrasound, electrical stimulation, hot packs and pharmacologic interventions. Nearly 89% of the patients had excellent to total pain relief within twelve 45-minute Anodyne® Therapy sessions

Extensive Examination:
The second study surveyed 252 patients with diabetes who had experienced chronic foot and leg pain. After receiving Anodyne® Therapy, 97% reported substantial reductions in their foot and leg pain.

Anodyne® Therapy can also help individuals reduce their falls and fear of falling. Several studies have documented that the Anodyne® program can improve balance, Tinetti Gait and Balance Scores, fear of falling and actual fall rates. Since falls are one of the leading causes of injury in the elderly, this can help individuals get back to functional levels never thought possible. Data presented at the 2003 American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting demonstrated a 96% reduction in falls in patients with loss of protective sensation after receiving Anodyne’s recommended comprehensive neuropathy therapy protocol.

In a survey of 252 diabetic patients who had received a comprehensive therapy protocol that included Anodyne® Therapy, 78% reported reduction in the number of falls and 80% reported a reduced fear of falling. More importantly, 72% reported they were able to increase their activities, which improved their quality of life.

What can be expected from the Anodyne® Therapy program?

Most patients say that Anodyne® Therapy feels warm and soothing. Others say they feel some tingling and pulsing, which is normal as blood flow returns. Some patients respond very quickly, while others take longer based on the degree of impairment. Our therapists will work with each patient as long as they are willing to work on their functional limitations and are showing progress toward their goals.

What Is Iontophoresis?
Iontophoresis is a way to get medicine deep into the body through the use of electricity. Iontophoresis uses a small electrical current produced by a controller and electrodes, to deliver medicine or specific chemicals through the skin – basically and injection without the needle.

Iontophoresis is commonly used by physical therapists for the application of anti-inflammatory medications. Common diagnoses treated with Iontophoresis include plantar fasciitis, bursitis and some types of hyperhidrosis.

How Does It Work?
The electrodes are placed over medicine that has been applied to the skin. When the small electric current is activated, the medicine is pushed away from the electrode and into the body.

Treatments generally last between 10 to 20 minutes, but can vary depending on certain types of treatments being administered. During a treatment, a slight prickling or tingling sensation may be felt.

Advantages of Iontophoresis
Among the many advantages of Iontophoresis, the most apparent are: First, the treatment is virtually painless when properly administered. Second, it provides an option for those reluctant or unable to receive injections. Third, it reduces risk of infection due to its non-invasive nature. Fourth, the treatment lowers the potential for tissue trauma or soreness from an injection.

Technically Speaking…
Iontophoresis is a non-invasive method of propelling high concentrations of a charged substance, normally medication or bioactive agents, transdermally by repulsive electromotive force using a small electrical charge applied to an iontophoretic chamber containing a similarly charged active agent and its vehicle. To clarify, one or two chambers are filled with a solution containing an active ingredient and its solvent, termed the vehicle. The positively charged chamber, termed the anode will repel a positively charged chemical, while the negatively charged chamber, termed the cathode, will repel a negatively charged chemical into the skin. Iontophoresis is well classified for use in transdermal drug delivery.

Most physical therapy patients receive massage therapy (also called manual therapy), woven into their treatment plan.

Integrating massage therapy into each session optimizes PT treatment and can effectively expedite patient recovery.

A great research paper in Science Magazine in 2012 by Mark Tarnopolsky, a metabolic researcher at McMaster University in Canada, looked closely at how massage therapy affects muscle tissue at the cellular level. They took samples of muscle tissue from the subjects’ legs before and after a challenging focused workout of intense exercise (similar to the effects of a challenging PT session). They found a significant increase in genes associated with repair and inflammation in the post-exercise leg samples compared to pre-exercise leg samples, as expected. But more importantly, they saw clear differences between the massaged legs and the unmassaged legs post-exercise.

The massaged legs had a 30% increase in PGC-1alpha expression, a gene that helps muscles build mitochondria – the engines that convert cell’s food into energy. And the same massaged leg samples also had 3 times less NF-kB (a protein complex that promotes inflammation) than the unmassaged leg samples. An overactive NF-kB mechanism is associated with a dysfunctional inflammation response and has been linked to delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), as well as cancers, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases in extreme cases. These findings suggest that massage therapy integrated into physical therapy treatment, can effectively regulate inflammation that follows intense PT exercise, and also promote faster healing.