Fatiguing a muscle to reduce onset response

Abstract

The occurrence of negative consequences (e.g., painful tetanic muscle contractions) associated with the onset response associated with kilohertz frequency alternating current (KHFAC) electrical nerve block can be reduced by fatiguing a muscle (through depletion of neurotransmitters at the neuromuscular junction, within a second) before applying KHFAC electrical nerve block to a nerve associated with the muscle. The nerve can first be stimulated with an electrical signal for a first time period to fatigue the muscle. Then, immediately following the first time period (while the muscle is fatigued), a blocking electrical signal (e.g., a kilohertz frequency alternating current waveform) can be applied to the nerve to create a localized nerve block.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.