Is electro stimulation the workout that does it all?

Weight loss, muscle recovery and pain relief are three commonly sought after benefits from workouts, training sessions and physiotherapy. However, what if we told you that one workout can do it all? Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) targets all of those areas and more! Most workouts target one or two goals however, it is not often that one delivers such a varied array of benefits.

Here are the different areas that electro stimulation can be effective.

Weight loss

Electric Muscle Stimulation workouts are effective at reducing the waist circumference, abdominal fat and fat percentage. The reason is that EMS focuses on building lean muscle which in turn, increases your metabolism and helps you to burn fat faster. Pulses from an electro stimulator also cause more muscle contractions than conventional exercise and thus, leads to you burning more calories. However, this can only be achieved when coupled with a healthy and balanced diet.

Knee pain

When your knee is in pain, it often affects a large part of your daily routine, including your physical activity. However, with an electro stimulation workout, you’ll be able to do the minimal activity and still get muscle contraction. This will increase blood flow to your knee’s injured area and possibly reduce inflammation. It will also ensure that your muscles do not become weak with disuse. Bursitis, an inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs around the kneecaps, is a common injury among athletes. It has been found that increased blood flow which can be achieved through electrical muscle stimulation, can be used to effectively treat it.

Muscle strengthening

EMS can help muscle strengthening from two different angles:

1. Muscle atrophy and weakness can be avoided

Muscle atrophy and weakness are developed from the halting of physical activity, injury, disease or nerve damage. It is usually present in cases where persons experience severe discomfort from engaging in physical activity. EMS can aid in muscle strengthening and the reversal of muscle atrophy or weakness by stimulating the muscles and causing them to contract without the need for physical activity which may cause discomfort.

2. General improvement of muscle quality 

If you’re an athlete or a general fitness buff and muscle strengthening is incredibly important for you, then an electro stimulation workout will be up your alley. EMS makes your muscles contract, or work harder than conventional exercise. It causes your body to activate 90% of your muscles and target deep muscle fibres, previously unreachable. This results in stronger muscles, faster and with less work.

Muscle recovery

Anyone who has engaged in a rigorous exercise routine or training session knows that the recovery after can be extremely taxing. It’s especially difficult for athletes who require back-to-back training sessions for their jobs but find it difficult due to long muscle recovery times. 

An electro stimulation session is able to reduce recovery times by gentle contractions of the muscles. Contrary to popular belief, gentle exercising after a training session can help to speed up recovery times. EMS’ gentle pulses increase blood flow and oxygen to the muscles and flush out toxins that build-up from exercise and contribute to soreness. 

Now that we understand the different ways that electro stimulation can help, let’s discuss who should use this type of work out.

Who should use Electrical Muscle Stimulation?

Due to its versatility, an electro stimulation workout can be used by a wide variety of people of varying fitness levels. If you fall into any of these categories, then give EMS training a shot!

• Athletes – All athletes have intense muscle recovery sessions. Electrical muscle stimulation can speed this recovery up by increasing circulation and flushing out the build-up of lactic acid in their bodies.
• Persons who’ve endured long-distance travel – Long-distance travel can wreak havoc on a body. It can subject you to physiological strain simply from sitting for hours. EMS can be used after your travel to reduce muscle soreness and basically, ‘wake-up’ your muscles.
• Injured persons – Anyone who is injured, especially in their joints, will have limited mobility. EMS allows for an impactful training session to maintain physicality without a stressful or intense workout.
• Everyday people – Anyone who is interested in losing weight, muscle strengthening or toning can start Electrical Muscle Stimulation training.
• Older persons – As you age, muscle mass is lost. EMS is a great way to strengthen and regain muscle without putting pressure on joints that may have deteriorated with age.

Electrical muscle stimulation is a great tool to help those in recovery and rehabilitation, with weight loss and body toning goals and muscle strengthening. If you are interested in using EMS training as a form of training or therapy while injured remember to seek advice from a medical professional before you start a program.