Electrical Stimulation or e-stim/E-STIM uses mild electrical currents to stimulate muscles or nerves. Adhesive electrodes are placed on the skin and connect to controlled current. The electrical current is frequency, amplitude, and intensity are manipulated to achieve the desired effects, which can be pain relief, muscle contraction, or even wound healing. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is the most well knows, but many other types of stim exist (Russian stimulation, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), iontophoresis, electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), interferential current electrical stimulation (IFC), and high voltage electrical stimulation, etc), which we can use to achieve different goals.
What can it treat?
- Chronic or acute issues
- Swelling
- Tendonitis
- Bursitis
- Chronic Pain
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Stroke
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Generalized Muscle Weakness & Tightness
- Hip or Knee Replacements
- ACL Repair
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- Osteoarthritis
- And more…
Clinical Effects
Electrical Stimulation can be used to help reduce pain, and improve muscle strength, motor control, and coordination, while also preventing muscle atrophy after being immobile. It is most typically used to relieve pain, but has many other uses. If you’ve ever seen The Matrix, Neo underwent extensive NMES after being removed from his pod!