Frequency-Specific Microcurrent Therapy Machine: What It Does For PT Patients
Frequency specific microcurrent (FSM) is an electrotherapy modality that some physical therapists use as an adjunct alongside therapeutic exercise and manual therapy. The published evidence is still early. Even so, a retrospective rehabilitation study, a recent pilot randomized controlled trial, and several registered trials now give clinicians enough to judge where the modality may fit in a plan of care and where caution is still warranted. How FSM Differs From Other Electrotherapy FSM delivers current in the microamp range, which is a small fraction of the output used by many other electrical stimulation devices. A case report in a medical acupuncture journal describes it as an adjustable microcurrent modality with applications for pain and associated symptoms. The report also notes a practical distinction from TENS: FSM is generally subsensory and is not intended to produce muscle contraction. The modality is built around frequency pairings delivered across two channels. One channe...