Invasive Physiotherapy. EPTE: What Percutaneous Electrolysis Is and How It Differs From EPI
Have you been diagnosed with tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis or patellar tendinopathy, and told about "percutaneous electrolysis", but nobody has actually explained what it is?
It's not a minor point of confusion: under that name live two different techniques, EPTE and EPI, which share the same physical principle but are applied with a very different dose. Clearing up this confusion, very common among people who come to us for a first visit, is the first step to understanding why at KINEO Benidorm we work with EPTE in most cases.
EPTE and EPI: the same mechanism, a very different dose
Both acronyms refer to the same physical reaction: a galvanic (direct) electrical current that, when passed through an acupuncture needle placed on the damaged tissue, triggers localised electrolysis. In other words, the same chemical process, but not the same experience for the patient, because the dose used to apply it is radically different.
EPTE (percutaneous electrolysis) uses a low intensity, in microamps, maintained for longer, and it's painless.
EPI, on the other hand, applies a high intensity, in milliamps, for a very short time, which makes it a considerably more painful technique. The biological goal being pursued is similar, but the path to get there — and what you feel on the table — has nothing in common.
What happens in the tissue when we apply the current through invasive physiotherapy?
With real-time musculoskeletal ultrasound we precisely locate the area of the tendon or fascia that's degenerated, and guide the needle to that exact point. By applying the current, we create a controlled micro-injury that the body interprets as an alarm signal: "repair needed here".
It's the same logic we already explained when talking about inflammation: first an "emergency crew" mobilises to clear away the degenerated tissue, then the "builders" come in and weave a provisional scaffold of type III collagen, and finally the finishing team replaces that scaffold with type I collagen, which is much stronger. In a chronic tendinopathy, that repair process usually gets "stuck" at some point; percutaneous electrolysis aims to restart it.
Which injuries is EPTE used for?
EPTE (invasive physiotherapy) is mainly applied to chronic tendinopathies that haven't fully resolved with conservative treatment: epicondylitis (the well-known tennis elbow), epitrochleitis (golfer's elbow), patellar tendinopathy (jumper's knee), Achilles tendinopathy, supraspinatus tendinopathy (rotator cuff), or plantar fasciitis (that characteristic heel pain with the first steps in the morning).
Like any invasive technique, it's never applied in isolation: we always combine it with a programme of exercise and progressive loading, because the tendon needs that mechanical stimulus to finish consolidating the new tissue. And as with any treatment, timelines and response vary from person to person: it's not a guaranteed cure, but one more tool within an individualised recovery plan.
If you've been carrying a tendon complaint that just won't fully improve, the first step is an assessment with real-time ultrasound to confirm what's actually happening in the tissue and whether EPTE is the right option for your case. Book an appointment at KINEO Benidorm and we'll look at it together.
Comments