What Are The Benefits Of Electrical Muscle Stimulation?

Electric muscle stimulation is a process through which low-level electrical currents are used to stimulate muscles, forcing them to contract. According to the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates devices that perform these functions, such devices are often illegally marketed as shortcuts to muscle building and definition. While the FDA warns that six-pack abs and similar results are unrealistic, the devices are regularly used in therapeutic settings.

Muscle Re-Education

According to "Sports Medicine Essentials: Core Concepts in Athletic Training and Fitness Instruction" by Jim Clover, muscle re-education is one of the principal applications of electrical muscle stimulation. Muscle re-education may need to be used in the early stages of physical rehabilitation following an injury that has either left certain muscles unused for a long period of time, or that has affected the brain. The goals of this treatment are to build basic tone and strength in weakened muscles and to force the contraction of these muscles in a coordinated pattern so as to strengthen the cognitive link between the brain and the movements. After training with electrical stimulation muscle re-education therapies to the point where they can properly use affected muscles on their own, physical rehab patients can often move on to more strenuous exercises that will more effectively return those muscles to their optimal strength. The FDA has approved electrical muscle stimulation for this use.

Muscle Atrophy

Muscle atrophy is a symptom characterized by decrease in muscle mass and can occur as a result of numerous medical conditions. According to Clover, electrical muscle stimulation may also be used to slow or prevent the effects of muscle atrophy by keeping weakened muscles active. This use is also FDA-approved.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a painful and sometimes debilitating condition caused by the degradation of joint tissues. According to a clinical study published in the "Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation" in December of 2008, electrical muscle stimulation was found to be an effective component of physical therapy for elderly patients who developed hip osteoarthritis after total hip arthroplasty surgery.

Pressure Sore Prevention

Another clinical study published in the "Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation" found that electrical muscle stimulation could also effectively reduce the risk of pressure sores in prone patients. Pressure sores are common problems for patients who are bound to wheelchairs, beds and other equipment that results in constant pressure being applied to certain areas of the body. In this study, electrical muscle stimulation was applied to the gluteus maximus of wheelchair-bound participants. The results show that this treatment produced significant results regarding the maintenance of proper buttocks shape and avoidance of deformities, which may be effective in reducing the incidence of pressure sores.