26 and the user 39 s skin 29 causing the skin in contact with the electrodes 27 to remain moist thereby reducing the skin 39 s electrical resistance to current flow 32 and also providing tactile and thermal stimulation to the user 39 s skin 29 and subcutaneous nerves and muscles 30 in the treatment area also shown schematically are paths of electrical current flow 32 from the electrodes 27 through the moistened skin 29 and through the subcutaneous nerves and muscles 30 the subcutaneous current distribution depends on spacing and arrangement of the electrodes and on the electrical characteristics of the skin and the electrical characteristics and distribution of subcutaneous tissues fig8 shows the current density distribution calculated for two electrodes 42 and 43 in contact with the skin 41 assuming uniform electrical conductivity within the subcutaneous tissue the current density distribution is represented by current flux lines 44 where the smaller spacing between the flux lines indicates higher current density and the direction of the flux lines shows the direction of current flow at an instant when the left electrode 42 has a positive voltage and the right electrode 43 has a negative voltage fig9 shows a line plot 46 of the local current density versus depth below the surface calculated.