The effect of tetrapolar interferential application of medium frequency currents on the autonomic nervous system

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of tetrapolar application of medium frequency currents (isoplanar vector field) in the thoracic spine area on the cardiac autonomic nervous system evaluated using the selected spectral and temporal indicators of heart rate variability (HRV) in healthy probands. Methods: The study used the method of spectral analysis of heart rate variability in shortterm recordings. The experimental group consisted of 11 healthy individuals, 6 males and 5 females, aged 22 to 26 years (mean age 24.1 years; SD ±0.7). The control group consisted of 12 healthy individuals, 3 males and 9 females, aged 22 to 26 years (mean age 23.5 years; SD ±0.9). Results: When comparing the individual parameters of heart rate variability in the position of supine 2 (the second supine before the application of the isoplanar vector field) and supine 4 (the second supine after the application of the isoplanar vector field), there was a significant increase in the value of the MSSD parameter (P = 0.04). In the control group, there was a significant increase in the value of the R-R interval parameter (P = 0.003). Conclusion: The results of the study showed only a very small effect of tetrapolar application of medium frequency currents on the cardiac autonomic nervous system (ANS).