Effective At-Home Pain Management: A Practitioner’s Perspective on the RS-4i® Plus
Meet Dr. Owens
Dr. William Owens is the CEO of the National Spine Group and has been a chiropractor in private practice for over 27 years. He serves as adjunct faculty at the College of Chiropractic Medicine at Cleveland University-Kansas City and the Jacobs School of Medicine at SUNY Buffalo.
Electrotherapy for At-Home Pain Management
For many of Dr. Owens’s patients, pain has become debilitating, restricting movement and making everyday tasks – like attending medical appointments – challenging.
To provide pain management between visits, Dr. Owens prescribes the RS-4i Plus, an advanced home-use electrotherapy device that combines high frequency (5000 Hz) Interferential Therapy (IFT) for long-lasting pain relief, with Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) for muscle rehabilitation. Patented Intersperse technology delivers both IFT and NMES during the same, uninterrupted treatment session. This excites the body’s natural beta-endorphin production to relieve pain for up to 8 hours, and provides rehabilitative muscle therapy that reduces muscle spasms, increases circulation and prevents disuse atrophy.
What is Interferential Therapy (IFT)?: Interferential Therapy (IFT) is used for pain relief and works by overlapping two slightly different high-frequency signals, for instance 5000 Hz and 5150 Hz. These signals intersect within the body to create an area of interference – a “sweet spot” where the therapeutic benefit is strongest. This intersection of signals results in a new frequency – the beat frequency – which is able to recruit the maximum number of A-beta nerve fibers for treatment. These high-frequency signals also trigger the body’s production of enkephalins, short-chain peptides that provide pain relief lasting less than an hour.
What is Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)?: Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) is used for muscle stimulation and causes lower motor neurons to fire. RS Medical uses an adjustable, custom square/asymmetrical spiked waveform with a frequency of 71 Hz that is able to activate both fast- and slow-twitch muscle fibers. Being able to stimulate a broader range of muscle fibers, especially large stabilizing muscles in the legs and the back, allows the RS-4i Plus to elicit a maximal muscle contraction – which expels metabolic waste and supplies a flow of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the muscles.
What is Intersperse?: Intersperse is a patented treatment session on the RS-4i Plus that intermixes premodulated IFT and NMES. During this session, pain relief signals are delivered during the relax period of muscle stimulation – giving the patient a repeating pattern of intermittent contraction, then pain relief, then contraction. This unique intermixing of IFT pain treatment and NMES muscle therapy sends a sequence of signals up the neo and paleo spinothalamic tracts into the brain and provokes a beta-endorphin release. These are long-chain peptides (endogenous opiates) that provide pain relief lasting up to 8 hours.
“The goal of this device is to help patients manage their pain independently, without relying on frequent office visits,” says Dr. Owens. “This is critically important in reducing dependence on medications when patients can use a system like the RS-4i Plus.”
Not only does the RS-4i Plus provide prescription-grade pain relief, but it also gives patients newfound freedom — offering side-effect-free, at-home pain management.
Real-World Results with the RS-4i Plus
Dr. Owens recalls a particularly difficult case – a patient with a severe disc herniation in the middle back.
“When he went in for surgery, his pain level was a 10 out of 10,” Owens explains. “After the surgery, he was still at a 6. The RS-4i Plus brought that pain down to about a 3.”
This dramatic improvement reinforced Dr. Owens’ confidence in Interferential Therapy and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation as effective treatment modalities. “Seeing these results is the best validation of what we do as healthcare providers.”
Helping Patients Return to a Functional Life
“Some injuries are permanent, and our goal is to help patients lead a functional life despite their condition,” Dr. Owens states.
For many, incorporating electrotherapy into their treatment plan is key to ongoing relief. The ability to self-manage pain – whether during the day or in the middle of the night – ensures that patients receive relief when they need it most.
“If we can help them feel better and stabilize their condition, they can return home and be an active part of their family again.”
Take the Next Step
Healthcare Practitioners
If you are interested in a more detailed review of the RS-4i Plus mechanisms of action and clinical evidence, we invite you to request a demonstration.
Patients
The RS-4i Plus requires a prescription. If you are interested in discussing this drug-free pain relief solution with your healthcare practitioner, download our patient discussion guide to help start a conversation.