5 Insanely Cool Electronic Stimulation Uses That You Need To Know

The human body is a complicated mechanism with many parts and sections that communicate with one another via nerves, which are electrical wires. Electronic stimulation can be used to tap into the body’s network of communications, giving us the ability to control our bodies in a way that sounds science fiction. 

The use of electricity to reduce pain sensations is known as electronic stimulation. Neuromodulation treatments can relieve pain in some patients with few side effects and provide an alternative to pain medication. Electronic stimulation is a fantastic technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way we recover and develop our physical bodies. These physical therapy treatments are typically considered to be risk-free. They do, however, involve the transmission of electrical impulses through your body. 

Electronic stimulation at Mason, MI, when combined with other treatments like rehabilitative therapy and medicine, can assist build a more successful and balanced treatment plan. 

The Applications Of Electronic Stimulation

Controlling The Brain

Controlling the brain is the most amazing application of electrical stimulation. The brain is the control center if electrical signals control the body, and electronic stimulation can be used to control the brain. The brain controls emotions, cognitive performance, and motor skills and can be influenced by electronic stimulation. Some physical therapy clinics even sell kits that allow you to stimulate throughout your forehead to improve concentration; however, they’re a bit of a grey area with the FDA, and it’s uncertain whether or not they’re safe. 

Compensating for Paralysis

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) can be utilized as a neuroprosthetic to compensate for paralysis in addition to therapy. You might feel foot drop when walking if your brain and spinal cord can’t connect with the muscles in your shin. When your shin muscles are paralyzed, you can’t bring up your foot to walk; thus, your toe-drags on the ground, making walking difficult and dangerous. 

Rehabilitation

Electronic stimulation is most commonly used in physical rehabilitation, especially after an injury or surgery to a joint like the knee. After knee surgery, muscle atrophy and poor activation are common concerns; thus, physical therapists will often utilize an electronic stimulation unit to generate isometric quadriceps contractions to counteract atrophy and aid voluntary contractions. Electronic stimulation also enhances blood flow, which helps the healing process go more quickly. 

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) can also help recover after a stroke, brain injury, or incomplete spinal cord injury by teaching the nervous system how to reach, grab, and even walk again. 

Sports Performance

Since the 1950s, when the Russians began incorporating it into their Olympic training, athletes have utilized electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) to increase muscle, boost strength, and expedite recovery. EMS can simultaneously activate all of the muscle fibres in a muscle group, resulting in substantially greater contractions than can be achieved voluntarily. 

Higher muscle loading implies more adaptation, and because the EMS activates the muscles for you, you can essentially work out without thinking about it. For these objectives, Compex sells a line of electrical stimulators. EMS could also be used to teach someone how to perform a specific movement. EMS can be used to both aid and signal the athlete on proper activation. 

Pain Relief

When you’re in pain, your body sends a signal to your brain via your nerves. When used correctly, electrical stimulation can successfully block the pain signal, ensuring that the message never reaches your brain.

Assume you’ve pulled a lower-back muscle. “We’ve got an issue down here,” your back’s pain receptors tell your brain, and you interpret that message as a dull discomfort. When you use electronic stimulation on your pain receptors, it creates so much noise that your brain can’t hear them. You don’t feel the pain because you don’t comprehend the message. Transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) is a pain-relieving technique. 

Main types Of Electronic Stimulation

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS is an effective treatment for both acute and chronic pain. TENS has been found to alleviate osteoarthritis pain and reduce the need for painkillers. 

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)

They’re designed to relieve muscle spasms, prevent muscle atrophy, improve blood circulation, keep or increase range of motion, and, most importantly, retrain the neuromuscular system. 

Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS)

They’re designed to help you build muscle, increase your size, boost your endurance, and speed up your recovery. Also similar to TENS, but meant to make muscles contract firmly, and commonly used by athletes, particularly for muscle recovery.

Endnote!

Some types of discomfort are caused by the unavoidable wear and tear that comes with growing older. Physical therapy helps people with pain and injuries to improve joint stiffness while also reducing discomfort. Electronic Stimulation is also beneficial to the elderly since it helps them develop their muscles. This type of application will help you in any pain that you were maybe experiencing.