Which practice would NOT help reduce skin irritation during functional electrical nerve stimulation?

Which practice would NOT help reduce skin irritation during functional electrical nerve stimulation?

• A. Use lower intensity
• B. Increase inter-electrode distance
• C. Use smaller electrodes
• D. Use larger electrodes

Answer: (C)

Skin irritation during functional electrical nerve stimulation mainly comes from high current density at the skin‑electrode interface, which can cause local heating and chemical effects. To lessen irritation, you want to reduce the amount of current reaching the skin and spread it over a larger area: lowering the stimulus intensity decreases overall current, increasing the distance between electrodes distributes the current over more skin, and using larger electrodes further reduces current density per unit area. Using smaller electrodes would do the opposite by concentrating the current into a smaller area, raising local current density and the likelihood of irritation. So, choosing smaller electrodes would not help reduce skin irritation.

Skin irritation during functional electrical nerve stimulation mainly comes from high current density at the skin‑electrode interface, which can cause local heating and chemical effects. To lessen irritation, you want to reduce the amount of current reaching the skin and spread it over a larger area: lowering the stimulus intensity decreases overall current, increasing the distance between electrodes distributes the current over more skin, and using larger electrodes further reduces current density per unit area. Using smaller electrodes would do the opposite by concentrating the current into a smaller area, raising local current density and the likelihood of irritation. So, choosing smaller electrodes would not help reduce skin irritation.