ELECTRONIC MUSCLE STIMULATION DEVICE (EMS)
EMS MISROSTIM J-1304-D
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Figure1: The Deluxe MICROSTIM J-1304-D and pads
The device is Microprocessor Controlled, Programmed with Trapezium Shaped Impulses, and provides Symmetrical Biphasic Waveform with enhanced reliability. The electrical impulses from this device imitate natural electrical signals, nevertheless causing Muscular Contraction in the same way. However the Electrical Stimulation will cause a greater recruitment of Motor Neurons, enabling the muscle to attain a 50% to 70% of Higher Contraction. This promotes the best quality Muscle Toning, Shaping, Exercising, and Reeducation.
The process starts with a Symmetric, Biphasic Wave from which is then pulsed in Trapezium Shaped Impulses, thereby Great Muscle Contractions can be delivered easily with extremely Soft & Pleasant Sensation being experienced. This machine has four channels that allow individual programming and perform simultaneously in the same time on different muscle groups of the body.
The technical specifications of the device are given below:
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Figure 2: Example of application and pads placements
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
EMS
Electronic Muscle Stimulator (EMS) is a revolutionary muscle exercise concept for use in home. Home EMS systems are portable, lightweight electronic units that have been scientifically designed and proven to exercise body muscles fast, efficiently & effectively through a series of stimulated contraction & relaxation phases
EMS has been used in former Communist Bloc countries for sport training since the early 1950s, but Western countries only became aware of its use in 1973, when Dr. Y. Kots of the Central Institute of Physical Culture in the former USSR presented a paper on EMS at Concordia University in Montreal. There he outlined the tremendous potential for strength enhancement beyond that which was possible by traditional (voluntary) training methods. His claims raised many eyebrows and considerable effort was expended in an attempt to validate Kots� claims. Crude studies that pitted EMS-fired muscles against voluntarily contracted muscles (using Cybex machines for measurement) appeared to show that EMS wasn�t as effective as Kots had claimed. However, the design of these studies was flawed due to a poor understanding of how EMS works on the neuromuscular system.
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Figure 3: Different Types of EMS
An EMS stimulus fires all the motor neurons in the treated area simultaneously, creating an uncoordinated contraction, which is primarily isometric in nature. Voluntary muscular contractions, on the other hand, roll through the muscle in a wave to generate a coordinated, directed force. Kots was able to show, using a tensiometric device that the muscle tension produced in a maximal EMS contraction can be up to 30% higher than a maximal voluntary contraction. This finding was corroborated by independent studies and makes intuitive sense, given the nature of the body�s energy conservation system
Since individual muscle fibers can be completely exhausted in just a few seconds, the body has adopted several strategies to prolong endurance. Slow twitch (red) fiber is used first in voluntary contractions, as it is energy efficient, though not very powerful. Then only enough strong, but voracious, fast twitch (white) fiber is added to handle the load. In addition, muscles work their individual fibers in relays, always holding some back from even the most demanding load to maintain a reserve. Therefore, it�s impossible to voluntarily contract all fibers simultaneously. The order of recruitment makes it likely that most of the fibers held in reserve will be white. EMS works directly on the muscles, bypassing the body�s energy conservation system, thus there�s no limit to the percentage of fiber that can be activated. The EMS stimulus "spills over" from fully contracted fiber to activate remaining fiber (given sufficient current) allowing the athlete to experience a training stimulus that�s unattainable by any other means.
The supra-maximal nature of this exercise enhances the strength to weight ratio by favoring enhanced recruitment over cross-sectional growth and also optimizes fiber splitting and the conversion of intermediate fiber to white fiber, the "Holy Grail" of power training. The Medical Advisory Committee has allowed the use of EMS systems by athletes since the 1972 Olympics. Bodybuilders, professional athletes, physiotherapist, sports doctors, US/Canadian Track and Field athletes use EMS systems to supplement their routines.
Work Principles
The main Body Shaper main unit has various outlets known as channels. Each channel will have a series of wire connections with two rubber pads attached at the end of each channel. The Body Shaper unit delivers a gentle electronic impulse to your muscles via the soft rubber pads that comes with the system. By placing the pair of pads on a particular muscle, the muscles respond to the impulses that are generated by contracting and relaxing rhythmically as instructed by user through the unit. When a muscle contracts as a result of a unique EMS signal, the chemical changes taking place within the muscles are similar to those associated with voluntary contraction in "normal exercising". These chemical reactions which results from muscle contractions utilizing glycogen, fat and other nutrients stored in the muscle. These resulting series of muscle contractions will enable an individual to build, tone, and strengthen, and to combat flabbiness and improve contour.
Evidence of Scientific Principles
Controlled medical Studies State �Most programs designed to increase muscle strength involve active exercises carried out by patient in isokinetic mode Although those methods do result in an increase of muscle strength, it appears that tetanizing electrical stimulation using faradic current is more effective method of building strength in the muscle". (M. Godfrey, M.D) Wellesley Hospital published in physiotherapy Canada Vol. 31 No. 5.
AVANTAGES
Sports Injury Rehabilitation
When a physical injury occurs such as sprains or strains, the body rushes fluids to the traumatized area, causing an unbalance within the localized spot. With conventional treatment of sports injury due to muscle spasm, strains or sprains the first line of defence is to apply ice, compression, elevation and rest. By applying ice to the affected area, you aim to reduce swelling and bruising. Through the application of a muscle stimulator, the blood vessels surrounding the injured site is made to constrict and decrease circulation, allowing the body to heal more rapidly. Those with re-occurring hamstring problems, sore knee, week ankles or strained elbows benefit from EMS.
Along with conventional treatment and a good physiotherapist, EMS helps reduce rehabilitation time by helping control swelling, strengthening week muscles and along with TENS frequency, helps to reduce pain which result in an athletes normal allocated recovery time from injury to be shortened. EMS can also be used to promote recovery after exercise. Using a unit at a low intensity setting will cause the muscle to be flushed and help remove the toxins that build up after a workout. This prevention of free radical damage means that the muscle recovers quicker and thus has more time for growth. When the need for explosive power, quick reaction time and improved speed is fundamental to a sport, EMS can provide the answer. Many of today's sports, particularly boxers, martial artists and sprinters all rely heavily on these qualities. Electronic Muscle Stimulation can aid in all of these factors since it enables the body to become accustomed to short, sharp, and intense muscular contractions.
Developing Atheletic Looking Muscles
The GlucoWatch Biographer measures glucose collected through the skin, not from blood like standard glucose testing meters. It uses a process called reverse iontophoresis to collect glucose samples through intact skin. This means that an extremely low electric current is applied, which draws interstitial fluid (the fluid around the body's cells) through the skin. The glucose in this fluid is then collected in a gel that is part of a single-use AutoSensor. A chemical process then occurs. This generates an electrical signal, which is converted into a glucose measurement. This measurement is then displayed on the GlucoWatch Biographer and stored in its memory.
There are various forms of muscle movement - Passive Exercise being one. EMS is ideal for just toning, firming and tightening. However special athletic level units are also available for building and bulking. These units provide body builders with a safe scientific alternative to steroids. Natural (drug free) bodybuilders will now be able to produce the same phenomenal gains in muscle size and strength that was before only available to steroid users. The benefits of EMS are so widely accepted that even NASA is currently studying its usage in space by astronauts. These should be used in conjunction with a regular weight training routine when trying to build bulk.
Easy to Work Out Stubborn Muscle
There are specific muscle groups that are more stubborn than others, for example the abdominal. They can be flexed more intensely with an Electronic Muscle Stimulator (EMS). This, combined with your regular workouts, is the fastest way to tone, firm, tighten, and define those abdominal muscles in the comfort of home or office while reading, watching T.V or netsurfing.
Safety to Use
This is a very important part. Developed in England over 40 years ago by a team of Scientists and Doctors, EMS is used extensively in Hospitals, Beauty Salons, Health Clubs and Spas as part of the Beauty regime and by Physiotherapists and Sports Medicine to treat those annoying sports strains and sprains. Electronic Muscle Stimulator (EMS) is quite safe for any individual capable of taking normal exercise. Users cannot strain or sprain their muscles by overworking them with the electronic muscle stimulator System because the feeling is more like a pleasant tingling sensation.
POTENTIAL HAZARDS
EMS machines are not recommended for medical use or by people fitted with pacemakers and internal defibrillators, metal implants, high blood pressure, diabetics or pregnant women, whereas people with heart disease and illnesses should consult a physician before using EMS. EMS machines are recommended for use under the supervision of a physician. These devices should be kept out of reach of children. EMS devices are not FDA registered. FDA caution: investigational device limited by US law to investigational use.
RECOMMENDATION OF USE
The benefits of EMS have been discussed extensively in theory but the real challenge is the successful incorporation of EMS into a training program. There are four main uses for EMS in sport training. First is for the enhancement of maximum muscle strength. Secondly, as a mean of sports injury recovery. Thirdly, as a rehabilitation tool and fourth, as a motor learning and muscle recruitment tool.
From our point of view, EMS will not give rippling muscles while sitting on the couch as advertised, but it does have many uses in athletics, rehabilitation, and even for bodybuilding. Moreover, it is not an FDA approved as a home-use medical device, and is still in the investigational period. So, we recommend the use of EMS limited to only the abovementioned four usages, which is together with the approval and monitoring of a physician or coach. Nevertheless, home usage is not recommended.
REFERENCES
http://www.paincontrolproducts.com/faq.htm
http://www.bodyshapers.com/htm/aboutems.htm
http://www.buyamag.com/cgi-bin/html/muscle_builder.htm
http://www.buyamag.com/cgi-bin/html/ems_tens_stimulation.htm