An electric muscle stimulator is a device that sends low-level electronic pulses to your muscles in order to halt atrophy or reduce spasms. While it is sometimes used by bodybuilders to build muscle tone, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not endorse the use of electric muscle stimulation, also known as e-stim, outside of a physical therapy setting.
TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is the most common type of e-stim used by physical therapists, particularly for back pain.
History
Electrical stimulation has been a form of therapy since the time of Socrates, when arthritis was treated by a fish that could generate electric shocks. Doctors used it in the 1800s as a type of indiscriminate cure-all for a variety of illnesses, and the public considered it to be a fashionable way to receive medicinal help.
During the late 1800s, Dr. Golding Bird began studying the effects of electric charges on human muscle tissue, lending more legitimacy to the science. In the 1960s, R. Melzack and P. Wall proved that electrical stimulation could be used for pain, paving the way for modern e-stim devices in the field of physical rehabilitation.
Use
Electric muscle stimulators cause your muscles to contract by sending electronic impulses that mimic ones that are naturally sent from the brain during movement. They are used in physical therapy as treatment for running injuries, broken limbs, bursitis, muscle spasms, back pain and muscle recovery following strokes. E-stim can also help people who have lost control of their limbs to avoid the atrophy that typically comes with the loss of nerve function.
While electronic muscle stimulators can help with muscle tone, they do not make muscles actually stronger. This requires strength training.
Experience
When you receive electrical muscle stimulation, the physical therapist or technician will place pads with electrodes directly on the muscle that is being stimulated. It feels like a vibrating or tingling sensation on your muscle. The tingle is the electricity stimulating your muscle and, in some cases, causing it to contract. Sessions range from 20 minutes to several hours in length, depending on the severity of your injury. Most physical therapists apply electronic muscle stimulation to patients who are lying down, but this may change depending on the part of your body that is being stimulated.
Alternatives
As an alternative to e-stim, some physical therapists seek to reduce patients' pain through electrothermal therapy and radio frequency therapy. However, electrothermal therapy is more invasive than e-stim, and radiofrequency therapy is an extremely new form of treatment. In electrothermal therapy (IDET--Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy), a doctor places a wire on the spine through an incision to heat the nerve fibers on the affected disc in order to lessen the pain receptors in that area. Radiofrequency discal nucleoplasty is based on the same concept as IDET but uses radio waves instead of a wire to modify the nerves on a spinal disc.
Precautions
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends against using electronic stimulation in lieu of exercise to build muscle mass.
Electronic muscle stimulation is not safe for all people. If you have a heart disorder or pacemaker, it can disrupt your heart rhythms and can be very dangerous. If you have a heart condition, you should not use it as a form of therapy, nor should you if you are pregnant.
Stimulation should never be applied by someone who is not a professional or, for at-home devices, without reading and following the directions for the device.
Electronic stimulation should not be painful. If you experience pain, contact your doctor or notify the therapist administering your treatment immediately.
References
- The Merck Manuals Home Library: Treatment of Pain and Inflammation
- "New York Times"; F.D.A. Warns Against the Misuse Of Electric Muscle Stimulators; Sandra Blakeslee; April 1988
- Spine Universe: Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
- "British Journal of Rheumatology"; Electrotherapy; Editorial; 1993
- American Academy of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation: Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy (IDET)
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