We report a clinical study conducted to investigate the effects of Electric Field Therapy (EFT) generated by HEALTHTRON on the stiffness in the neck and shoulder area. In Japan, most cases of stiffness in the neck and shoulder area are caused by painfully hypertonic muscles due to various causes such as cervical damage, mechanical stress, disordered cutaneous sensation and psychogenic stress. Internal disorders can also be significant causes of the painful stiffness in the neck and shoulder area. Subjects were 62 outpatients with chief complaints of stiffness in the neck and shoulder area. Informed consent was obtained from each subject. The patients with organic and/or pathological changes in the muscloskeletal system, mental disorder, or internal disease were not included in this study according to the exclusion criteria for feasible focus in hypertonic muscles.
The present study consists of two comparisons, 1) standard treatment in our clinic vs. additional HEALTHTRON, by observing the visual analogue scale (VAS) of stiffness in the neck and shoulder area and general condition, lymphocyte percentage in peripheral blood, blood pressure, and 2) HEALTHTRON alone vs. direct-contact electric stimulation (DCES) alone by observing circulatory blood in the trapezium, and the changes of autonomic nervous activity by heart rate variability (HRV). Results of the first research revealed that the stiffness in the neck and shoulder area was improved more quickly by additional HEALTHTRON than by the standard treatment, according to the results of VAS analysis. The general conditions were also improved in the patients treated with the additional HEALTHTRON. The lymphocyte percentage was increased by the addition HEALTHTRON, which suggested that parasympathetic nerve get a predominant position. The average blood pressure in the hypertensive patients in both groups was decreased after the treatment in this investigation, but blood pressure did not change in the patients with hypotension. The second research found that the blood circulation in the trapezium increased in each group treated with HEALTHTRON or DCES; however, the differences between two groups were not statistically significant. No changes in activity of the autonomic regulation were observed in the patients treated with DCES from an analysis of HRV. In contrast, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems were activated by HEALTHTRON, according to HRV analysis. These results suggest that EFT (HEALTHTRON) are effective for treating stiffness in the neck and shoulder area, and improve the status of the autonomic nervous system.