High-Voltage Pulsed Current (HVPC) is characterized by which of the following?

• A. Biphasic, long-duration pulses used for muscle strengthening.
• B. Monophasic, short, high-voltage pulses used for wound healing, edema reduction, and pain relief with polarity effects.
• C. Continuous sinusoidal current used for deep tissue heating.
• D. Pulsed DC with balanced charge used for nerve block.

Answer: (B)

High-Voltage Pulsed Current uses monophasic, short-duration, high-voltage pulses delivered as bursts. This creates a unidirectional (net charge per pulse) current that can produce specific tissue responses needed for wound healing, edema reduction, and pain relief. The polarity of the active electrode matters because the cellular and vascular effects differ depending on whether the wound or edema site receives negative or positive polarity, with negative polarity commonly used to promote healing and edema control.

This differs from options that describe biphasic, long-duration pulses used for muscle strengthening; continuous sinusoidal current for heating; or pulsed DC with balanced charge for nerve block, none of which match HVPC’s monophasic, short, high-voltage, pulsed nature and its polarity-dependent effects.