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Electrical muscle stimulation
JoVanna G. Gutierrez
Pasadena City College
KINT 003: Intro to Kinesiology
Professor Michael Terrill
May 3, 2020
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Abstract
Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) is an approved treatment used to strengthen muscles
that were once weak after being injured. Researchers have said that voluntary exercise has the
same effects as EMS but at a slower pace. EMS is a treatment that uses relatively high electrical
contractions to motor neurons to activate slow and fast muscle twitches. It generally acts towards
the small motor neuron to activate the slow muscle twitches before it gets to the larger ones to
activate the fast muscle twitches. This treatment is mostly used to gain mobility function in upper
and lower extremities for patients who have paralysis or a stroke history.
Keywords: electrical stimulation, muscle strengths, voluntary exercise, performance
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Electrical Muscle Stimulation
According to multiple researchers, electrical muscle stimulation is a more stressed
procedure for muscle to experience the maximum. Compared to voluntary exercise, EMS is a
more stressed strategy to help restore body movement for daily function.
EMS is only demonstrated in a certain frequency range, like only 20-50 Hz, to make sure
to produce an equal contraction for all patients. Although EMS is used to improve motor
impairment or to create multi-joint movement, studies have shown that it is safe to use for just
pain reduction. Doctors have used electrical muscle stimulation on amputees to reduce pain from
muscles on amputated limbs.
Assessments
Benefits of Electrical muscle stimulation. Electrical muscle stimulation sends an
electrical current to motor neurons to activate muscle movement. Studies have proven that EMS
has the same results as voluntary exercise but works faster and more efficiently. It has been
shown that electrical muscle stimulation has more benefits than just muscle movement and
muscle strengthening. EMS has been shown to improve circulation and blood flow, decreased
pain, and increased tissue healing. Results are even more remarkable when patients combine
EMS and voluntary exercise by doing physical activity during EMS breaks because they are
increasing muscle movement twice as fast.
Risks of Electrical muscle stimulation. EMS, like all treatments, has risks when it's
something new or your body isnt used to it. For the EMS procedure, when the muscles are
gaining mobility, it induces excessive fatigue. According to Doucet, “Researchers have studied
frequency, pulse width, modulation of pulse, amplitude, electrode placement, and use of variable
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frequency pulse patterns to determine if fatigue can be reduced through a modification of any of
these parameters.”(page 7) meaning that there have been tests to figure out a way to reduce the
nausea patients feel when getting EMS treatment but they have not found the solutions. Along
with fatigue, researchers have not yet discovered if muscle mobility is long-term or not.
Researchers have not yet released any follow-up data from the treatment about patients having
EMS withdrawal, like from spasticity reduction in cerebral palsy, or post-stroke hand function.
Results (Effectiveness of Electrical muscle stimulation.)
Reports have stated that treatment in high-intensity EMS combined with voluntary
exercise has helped Wolf et al with his weight-lifting performance, like gaining muscle to show
improvements in vertical jumping and 25-yard dash. These treatments worked well enough to be
converted into a 6-week period of EMS treatments to potentially gain finger and hand movement
in stroke patients. It was transitioned into a sock to help treat patients who need help in ankle
injuries.
Discussion
Electrical muscle stimulation has been proven to be successful to increase muscle
strength and has been used in many cases. EMS has shown improvement to people with great
injuries to the knees that has caused them to have muscle weakness. EMS has also been proven
to be faster than voluntary exercise by activating the slow and fast muscle twitches at the same
time rather than one at a time. Also, if the EMS theories are passed on clinicians will have the
access to use EMS to their patients suffering from muscle weakness. Electrical muscle
stimulation should be practiced in more clinics for muscle injury cases, EMS is guaranteed to be
more successful than continuous physical activity.
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References
Doucet, B. M., Lam, A., & Griffin, L. (2012). Neuromuscular electrical stimulation for skeletal
muscle function. The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 85(2), 201–215.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3375668/aq
Hao, Yi, et al. "Tai Chi exercise and functional electrical stimulation of lower limb muscles for
rehabilitation in older adults with chronic systolic heart failure: a non-randomized clinical
trial." Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 2019, p. NA. Gale
Aswqcademic OneFile,
https://link-gale-com.ezp.pasadena.edu/apps/doc/A612928804/AONE?u=pasa19871&sid
=AONE&xid=2acd56e5. Accessed 12 June 2020.
Delitto, Anthony, and Lynn Snyder-Mackler. "Two theories of muscle strength augmentation
using percutaneous electrical stimulation." Physical Therapy, vol. 70, no. 3, Mar. 1990, p.
158+. Gale Academic OneFile,
https://link-gale-com.ezp.pasadena.edu/apps/doc/A8918275/AONE?u=pasa19871&sid=
AONE&xid=891bfb8b. Accessed 12 June 2020.
