Electro-Therapeutics And X-Rays

Excerpt from book: cess in electro-therapeutic practice are, first, a thorough knowledge of the subject, and, second, the proper appliances to work with. Let no one complain of Tiis failures until he has the knowledge and a proper electro-therapeutic outfit. It is self-evident that familiarity with electric current action upon and within the living tissues is a basic need to the physician who prescribes an electric current therapeutically. Skill and the requisite knowledge in this special branch comes only by close observation, hard study and much experience. Every physician before undertaking to use electricity should study and know the difference between the various currents ; between quantity and intensity ; know the effect of one pole from that of the other or he is likely to do more harm than good. Notwithstanding the undoubted utility of electricity as a medicinal agent, there still remains a large class of practitioners who rarely employ it, and are apparently content to remain in almost complete ignorance of the subject. This apathy or lack of confidence in electricity is usually the result of an absence or insufficient knowledge of the subject. It is no exaggeration to say that a not insignificant number of practitioners make use of the different kinds of electrical currents indiscriminately and without sufficient regard for the laws of electro-therapeutics which should govern their employment; or they employ it because it is said to be good for such and such diseases; these are naturally disappointed in the results, and look upon it with suspicion. The most gratifying feature is that this class of physicians is rapidly growing less, and that the more familiar physicians become with the manifestation of electric energy, the more do they recognize its adaptations to the requirements of...