Why doesn't Acticare IC have a 4-pole mode?

Although 4-pole interferential current therapy (IC) is sometimes touted as "proper" IC, it is inferior to 2-pole in many respects. Recent study indicates that many physiotherapists in the UK appreciate this, with approximately 79% of IC treatments using a 2-pole application (Tabasam and Johnson, unpublished study, 2000).

Advantages of 2-pole over 4-pole IC include:

• 2-pole IC has the capacity to treat larger areas than 4-pole IC, even with vector scanning.

• 2-pole IC applies a perfect "interferential" current across the whole treatment area instead of relying on un-predictable interference within the body.

• 2-pole IC is somewhat easier to apply correctly than 4-pole IC.