Medical practitioners have explored the potential uses of
electricity as a form of treatment since the 1700s, when devices
such as Leyden jars, friction machines and later the battery
enabled the production and storage of static and current
electricity. From the middle of the century, physicians and lay
people such as John Wesley applied electricity to patients'
bodies for a variety of complaints from tuberculosis to
epilepsy. Many of these treatments have been discarded, but
simultaneously a wide range of new forms of electrotherapy have
been developed. Today, methods used include muscle stimulation
to rehabilitate weakened muscles, or to relieve muscle spasms;
stimulation of the brain for neurological disorders; and the
application of electric currents to facilitate the healing of
wounds. While the positive effects of electricity on certain
conditions has been proven empirically, in many cases scientists
still cannot explain why this is the case. Earliest and simplest
device for storing static electricity,