What's the wave with TECAR?
How radiofrequencies have become the anti-aging and injury prevention hack
What’s so great about TECAR? And how the heck does it work? If you are not up to date on new medical technology, you might have never even heard about TECAR. Well, now’s the time to learn! Don’t miss out on the benefits of this state of the art anti-aging and injury prevention hack!
A Little History about TECAR
It was in the late 1800s when a French physician named Jacques Arsene d’Arsonval discovered that high frequency currents had the ability to increase permeability of the plasma membrane of our cells. In 1939, an English physician named Dr. Beaumont was exploring the use of diathermy and how penetrating cells with a current would generate a heating response within the tissues of the body. He was able to produce a machine that had both capacitive and resistive capabilities at high frequency. Fast forward to 1995, high frequency current is being used in physiotherapy practice in Spain and Italy; practitioners developed rehabilitative guidelines based off the work of d’Arsonval and Beaumont using mobile electrodes. The term TECAR was born: Capacitive and Resistive Electrical Transfer.
What do I need to know about TECAR therapy?
How does it work?
What is now better understood is how TECAR Therapy is able to influence our tissues, from the most superficial layers of our skin to the deepest joints and capsules in the body. On a physiologic level, current of the TECAR therapy stimulates the movement of ions. The positive and negative charged particles attract and repel each other thanks to the amplitudes of the current. This ionic movement pushes the cell membrane to increase membrane permeability by passive transport and facilitated diffusion. This stimulation of molecular exchanges caused by the TECAR current will accelerate cell metabolism. In short: More waste out of the cells and more oxygen and nutrients in. Through the stimulation of the cell membrane, TECAR allows our cells and tissues to heal and regenerate faster. A natural bio-accelerator, if you will.
What is it used for?
While being used widely for an array of health and beauty treatments in Europe since 2013, TECAR therapy has only just made its way into the US markets following its FDA approval about 2-3 years ago. Today there are chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists, dermatologists, athletic trainers and estheticians all over the country who are utilizing the healing powers of TECAR therapy for their patients and clients. In addition to its cellular benefit, TECAR therapy also has the ability to influence microcirculation, oxygenation, vascularization and collagen synthesis for all our tissues to promote rehabilitation after surgery, injury prevention in athletes, and even post partum rehab for women.
Slight modulations and changes in frequency are responsible for the targeting of tissues at different depths and compositions, as well as altering the desired benefit of that treatment via the intensity (heat). For example, for collagen synthesis around the face and skin tightening, a current of 1000-1200kHz at a high intensity would be most appropriate, whereas to target a tissue in the body, let’s say the insufficiently vascularized femo-acetabular (hip) joint, a resistive current at a depth of 300kHz is probably going to get the job done. Need to loosen up those tight hammies? You’re going to want a capacitive (insulated) current spanning 500-300kHz, which will get you a depth of roughly 2-5 centimeters into the body. The capacitive current is better for addressing muscle tissue, whereas the resistive current is better for addressing pathology in the bones, tendons, ligaments, and other resistive tissues. Most literature you will find regards a current at 448kHz to have the largest therapeutic benefit, though new research out of Europe is being published at a higher and higher frequency (yes, pun intended).
Benefits of TECAR Therapy
- analgesic (pain relief)
- anti-inflammatory properties
- improved joint mobility
- reduced fibrosis and edema
- improved collagen synthesis
- decreased scaring
- promotes skin tightening
- injury prevention
FAQ's about TECAR
Check out the link below to help you find some of the TECAR providers in your area!
For soft tissue injuries like muscle aches and spasms, patients can feel relief immediately or within one day after treatment. However, for cosmetic use, the effects may take longer.
TECAR therapy is typically used 2-3 times per week
My Two Cents!
The concept is truly fascinating, and the benefits appear to be great. As a physical (physio) therapist I use TECAR with 75-80% of my patients. There are, however, some contraindications. To date, I can confidently say that TECAR therapy has positively impacted me as a clinician, improved outcomes for my patients, and been unlike any other healing modality I have used. Preliminary data collected by myself and several students working with me shows that a 10-minute TECAR treatment may be able to improve muscle contractility by 10-14% in patients with a diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis or those who have had a total knee replacement. I look forward to adding to that data over the next several years, and for now I’m excited to keep riding this electromagnetic wave forward!
Interested in reading more? Here’s our references!
- Winback Academy Platform – Welcome. Winback Academy. (2023, December 12). https://winback-academy.org/winback-academy-platform-welcome/
- Elhosary, E. A., Ahmed Hamada, H., Ali AlMubali, F., López Sánchez, G. F., & Ahmed, S. M. (2023). Effect of monopolar capacitive resistive radiofrequency in treating stress urinary incontinence: A pilot randomized control trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1062363.
- Clijsen, R., Leoni, D., Schneebeli, A., Cescon, C., Soldini, E., Li, L., & Barbero, M. (2020). Does the application of Tecar therapy affect temperature and perfusion of skin and muscle microcirculation? A pilot feasibility study on healthy subjects. The journal of alternative and complementary medicine, 26(2), 147-153.
- Navarro-Ledesma, S., & Gonzalez-Muñoz, A. (2021). Short-term effects of 448 kilohertz radiofrequency stimulation on supraspinatus tendon elasticity measured by quantitative ultrasound elastography in professional badminton players: A double-blinded randomized clinical trial. International Journal of Hyperthermia, 38(1), 421-427.
- Pihut, M., Górnicki, M., Orczykowska, M., Zarzecka, E., Ryniewicz, W., & Gala, A. (2020). The application of radiofrequency waves in supportive treatment of temporomandibular disorders. Pain Research and Management, 2020.