Introductory Electrical Stimulation for Pelvic Health

Participants who register for this course have the option to attend the course live-online and/or watch the recording later. The recording will be available to all registrants for a 6-week period and access is provided on the next business day following the course. This allows participants who may not be able to attend live-online to still benefit from the course content. 

Course Description:

This 3 hour introductory level course will help to unravel the mysteries of electrical stimulation techniques and allow you to apply principles rather than protocols when using it for pelvic health conditions. Starting with the basics of neuromuscular physiology then applying this to understand parameters you will be able to use clinical reasoning to work out the best applications for your patients.

There will be a focus on the most commonly seen pelvic health conditions OAB/ urinary urgency and pelvic pain as well as how to use electrical stimulation when pelvic floor weakness is a contributor to conditions such as SUI and POP.

There is a practical case study section along with how to troubleshoot issues with machines.

Course Objectives:

• Understand basic neuromuscular physiology of neurons, nerve, and muscle fibres, how do they work?
• Apply this to understanding the parameters used in electrical stimulation.
• Understand the difference between NMES and TENS.
• Learn the proposed theories of mechanism of action for both NMES and TENS.
• Understand the differences between voluntary and stimulated muscle contractions.
• Understand the differences between using high and low-frequency TENS for pain management.
• Know when to choose either as an adjunct to your treatment and learn where they fit into the treatment paradigm/algorithm.
• Understand the principles of electrode choice – how do you know which to choose?
• Learn how to troubleshoot with a machine – what does it mean when the machine won’t go past 5-6mA?
• Learn how to check electrodes and leads.
• Apply what you have learned via an interactive case study session using the supplied parameter card download.

Audience: This course is open to registered health professionals for whom the use of electrical stimulation techniques for pelvic health are within the scope of practice.

Prerequisites: None

Time: 6:00pm – 9:00pm ET (Toronto). Please convert to your local time zone.