Using microcurrent therapy along with traditional wound care approaches significantly reduces wound size and lessens pain, according to a study in the Journal of Wound Care.

Harikrishna K.R. Nair, M.D., head of the wound care unit at Malaysia’s Hospital Kuala Lumpur, studied the effect of microcurrents on 100 chronic wound patients over four months in 2016. Their diagnoses included diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers and pressure ulcers.

Each patient was treated with two types of electrical stimulation over a four-week period: anti-inflammatory frequency and vasodilation frequency. Wounds also were cleaned during each dressing change.

Patients also were loaned a home-microcurrent device to treat themselves three times daily using a tissue repair frequency for four weeks.

Nair reported all patients had a reduction in wound size, with 16 complete wound closures. Of the 89 patients who complained of wound pain, all experienced reduced pain scores, with 11 being “pain-free” at the end of the four weeks.

The methods also reduced leg swelling and improved sleep quality and gait.