Iontophoresis in Physical Therapy
Iontophoresis is a type of electrical stimulation used in physical therapy. It involves applying a negatively- or positively-charged current to the skin to help deliver medication deep into tissues.
How Iontophoresis Works
Ions with similar charges repel each other, while those with opposite charges attract each other.
If a medication solution is negatively charged and you apply a negative electrical charge, the medicine will be repelled, or pushed, from the negative charge. In iontophoresis, your physical therapist uses this principle to push medicine into your injured tissues.
The medication used is ionically charged. A negatively charged medication requires a negative current to drive it into your body.[1]