The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday said that electrotherapy devices are medical devices that need to obtain a license from the FDA and contain a warning that it is unsuitable for people with six types of conditions, as electrotherapy is commonly used in physiotherapy to reduce pain and strengthen muscles.
The FDA’s Division of Medical Devices and Cosmetics section head Yeh Shiu-huei (葉旭輝) yesterday at the Ministry of Health and Welfare said that electrotherapy is a type of electrical muscle stimulation — the application of electrical currents across the surface of the skin to activate motor nerves and create muscle contractions.
Electrotherapy is a commonly used non-invasive treatment for relieving muscle pain or neuromuscular retraining therapy for helping people with nerve or muscle damage or injury for the purpose of restoring muscular mobility, he said.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician Hsu Hung-chih (許宏志) said many people may have the misconception that “turning the electric frequency higher provides better therapeutic effects,” but people should start “from low to high” and “from shorter to longer periods of time.”
As elderly people usually have thinner layers of skin and fat, and are less sensitive to stimuli, sometimes using a high electric frequency might cause electric shock or burn injuries, so it is better for healthcare professionals to operate the medical devices for patients, Hsu said.
In addition, people with any of the six conditions — people with electronic implantable medical devices (such as a pacemaker or a cardioverter defibrillator), open wounds on the skin where the electrode pads are placed, epilepsy or diabetes, and pregnant women and children — are unsuitable for receiving electrotherapy , Hsu said.
If patients use electrotherapy at home, they should stick the electrode pads or patches on their skin appropriately following the device instructions, Hsu said, adding that the size of the pads or patches should not be too small to avoid overstimulation, the skin where they are placed should be clean and dry, and the therapy should not be used for long durations.
Electrotherapy devices are listed as a class II medical device in Taiwan, so they must pass the FDA’s safety, effectiveness and quality reviews, and obtain a license before being sold, Yeh said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by