It’s Electric

Electric muscle stimulation is a broad term used to describe sending small electrical currents through body tissue to create a desired effect. The electricity will flow through pads attached to your skin which will have negative and positive poles, just like a car battery. The effects can however vary greatly depending on the intensity and frequency of the current. Electrical stimulation can be used for pain modulation, muscle excitation, and to control swelling. By changing the parameters, the desired effects will change. For example, interferential current has a low frequency and is best used for pain control. The frequency is at such a level that the current can block pain receptors going to the brain, decreasing pain. For electrical stimulation to work, muscles do not have to contract all the time. There are some types of electricity like microcurrent that may be barely even felt.

EMS is also good for rehabilitating muscles when one is unable to move that body part. After surgery when a body part may be immovable, electric currents can be put through the tissues to simulate actual movements. When tissues are not moving, the blood becomes stagnant, not allowing blood to flow limiting the healing process. Electrical currents will help to improve blood flow and provide the injured area with new blood filled with nutrients allowing for a quicker healing time.