Types of Electrode Positions

Electrodes are electrical conductors which allow electric currents to travel from any medium including a machine, solution, cell, or body. Electrodes are used in a variety of laboratory tests, as well as a means of performing treatment. The placement of the electrodes on the body depends upon the test or treatment being performed.

Electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG) Electrode Positions

• Electrocardiograms (ECG) help to analyze damage, heartbeat abnormalities, and effects of medical devices or treatments for the heart, as well as the positioning and size of the heart's individual chambers. Electrodes are applied to the chest, legs, and arms, helping to record the heart's electrical activity. Twelve lead ECG systems apply 12 separate leads along the right and left limbs as well as across the left side of the chest.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) Electrode Positions

• Electroencephalograms (EEG) are used to monitor brain activity through the placement of electrodes over the skull in areas adjacent to specific regions of the cerebral cortex. Electroencephalograms are helpful in testing for epilepsy and other brain related disorders. It is also used for sleep research. In the placement of electrodes for electrocardiograms, the physician will use the 10-20 Electrode Placement system that involves the positioning of the electrodes 10 to 20 percent increments from one another. Depending on the area of the brain under analysis, electrodes can be placed in various areas along the scalp including the front, back, sides, and top.

Electrode Positions to Treat Visceral Pain

• Electrodes can also be used in the treatment of pain, including visceral pain in the various organ systems of the body. Treatments can address pain issues in organs that include the heart, lungs, pancreas, liver, reproductive organs, bladder, and the digestive system. Electrodes are primarily placed in locations along the spine. For example, treatment of the lungs would call for electrode placement on the upper area of the spine between where the shoulder blades begin and end. In contrast, colonic pain is treated with placement of the electrodes on the inner and outer thighs.

Electrode Positions to Treat Muscluar Pain

• Like pain in the body's individual organs, muscular and joint pain can also be treated through the careful application of electrodes to certain areas on the body. Placement for muscular and joint pain is relatively common-sense, corresponding with the location of the pain. For instance, neck and shoulder pain is treated through the placement of electrodes on the left side of the neck, near where the neck meets the shoulder. Pain in the joint area of the jaw, is addressed at the site of the pain.