A patient came to me asking about this kind of treatment recently. I had never heard of such a thing but it did get me thinking about it. The treatment consists of putting a button battery on a point. She did not know any more than that. The first problem with this treatment is that there is only one connection point so it is not a closed circuit. That means that the current will typically be quite small , the electrons being only attracted to a positive charge in the body nearby. That said, it could be somewhat effective at treating a degenerative process close by if the negative pole is put on the skin. But the skin’s natural electrical resistance will inhibit the flow of electrons. Only at acupuncture points and other breaks in the skin will electrons flow easier.
Putting the positive pole on the skin will have the same problems but can possibly attract electrons from inflammation nearby. Thus it could possibly have a slight anti-inflammation effect. But here the effect depends on the amount of electrons moved and since the current is so small, it shouldn’t have much of an effect.
The main problem with this method is the lack of a closed circuit. In both cases (inflammation and degeneration) this is why it will have a bridgeable effect. But if you could complete the circuit it would be much more effective. Possibly, if worn for a long time, the basic treatment could see some effect. Closing the circuit could be accomplished using a button electrode held in place with some sticky electrode gel connected to another sticky electrode. Just not very practical.