What is Muscle Shock Therapy?
Also known as Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) or Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES), muscle shock therapy is the process of causing inducing muscle contraction by the use of electrical pulses. These electrical pulses are produced by a system that includes an electrical pulse device and electrodes that are attached to the skin at the area of focus.
The Muscle Shock Therapy Device
The device consists of two parts; the part that generates the electrical impulses and electrodes that pass the impulses to the body. The device is portable and small like that of a scientific calculator, while the electrodes are attached to the body by some thin wires. The electrodes are just some material to stick to the skin of the area of focus. The device comes in brands like Mac Pro, Powerdot, Tone-A-Matic, and Compex, which are available in online stores including Amazon. The FDA regulates their manufacture and sale.
How it Works
In normal circumstances, the body is responsible for the movement of muscles. For example, when in danger, the stimulus is collected by the sensory nerves, takes up the stimuli, passes it along the Central Nervous System (CNS) and delivers it to the brain for interpretation. The brain then sends the message through the CNS to the organ, telling the muscles to contract so that you can flee the dangerous situation. However, an NMES device comes to replace the roles played by the CNS. The electrical impulses produced by the device are transmitted to the brain bypassing the CNS, and the brain tells the targeted muscle to contact.
As a result, the patient or the athlete moves the muscles without feeling pain or getting so tired. It is therefore conclusive to say that muscle shock therapy is used to train injured and partially or complete muscles to regain mobility while reducing pain and tiredness.
Conditions Healed by Muscle Shock Therapy
Muscle shock therapy is widely used in cosmetology, sports, and medicine. In the sports industry, it is used to help athletes train and build muscle strength even harder without pain. In cosmetology, it is used to loosen the fats on the belly so that it can easily be lost. However, since the topic is about muscle shock therapy, we are going to focus on the muscles only.
- Muscle Tension
Due to the intensive involvement of muscles, they may tend to get tired and tensed such that mobility becomes an issue. However, when the NMES device generates electrical impulses and directs them to the tensed muscle, the connective tissues vibrate, and the tension in the muscle reduces. The ripple effect of this is that the patient can use the affected area again, as the tension heals.
- Muscle Inflammation
Inflammation in the muscles occurs because of blocked vessels under the skin around the muscle. Therefore as the device produces the electrical impulses, the connective tissues are shaken, and the blocked vessels are unblocked. When coupled with a little massage, blood, and lymphatic fluid flow smoothly, hence reducing muscle inflammation.
- Muscle Knots
When muscles are not used or overused, they tend to be injured or experience tension that leads to debilitating pains. One of the many ways of treating muscle pains is using muscle shock therapy. This is because this kind of therapy is used to treat tension and inflammation in the muscles, both of which cause pain.
For this therapy to produce effective results in muscle treatment, it must be coupled with forms of muscle treatment like medication and massage. The therapy has no known side effects but before you begin using the NMES device, consult a muscle therapist first because the issue you are experiencing may require a different type of therapy, and not muscle shock therapy.