Electrotherapy and Neurology

Electricity played a prominent role in the development of medical neurology in the nineteenth century. Nearly all the pioneer neurologists in Europe and America were electrotherapists. Since electricity stimulated nerves, nerve cells, and muscle cells, it seemed logical that electrotherapy was most useful for treating neurological diseases. Hospitals set up special areas to house the electronic equipment along with electricians to maintain the equipment. In France, Duchenne demonstrated how electricity could distinguish between nerve and muscle diseases. Neurologists treated a wide range of neurological conditions with electrotherapy from paralysis to dystonia and epilepsy. The best results were obtained with the common diagnoses of hysteria and neurastheniaNeurasthenia. These disorders were greatly dependent on suggestionSuggestions and electrotherapy was a powerful placebo. Electricians and neurologists developed a tenuous relationship as each tried to establish their role in the potentially lucrative field of electrotherapy.