Notes from My Year of Electric Muscle Stimulation

“My own results have been so favorable that I am not interesting in debating whether or not EMS works but rather in optimizing the use of EMS in the training of elite athletes.” Charlie Francis About August or September of 2013 I got really interested in the capabilities of electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) for strengthening. … Read more

Electric Stimulation and Plantar Fasciitis

Use of low-frequency electrical stimulation for the treatment of plantar fasciitis. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 2009 Nov-Dec;99(6):481-8. Stratton M1, McPoil TG, Cornwall MW, Patrick K. AbstractBACKGROUND:Recent research has discussed the use of low-frequency electrical stimulation to increase blood flow by eliciting muscular contraction in soft tissues. This randomized clinical trial examined the efficacy of … Read more

Foot Muscle Fatigue Causes Loss of Foot Arch

Fatigue of the plantar intrinsic foot muscles increases navicular drop. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2008 Jun;18(3):420-5.  Headlee DL, Leonard JL, Hart JM, Ingersoll CD, Hertel J. AbstractOur purpose was to assess the effect of foot intrinsic muscle fatigue on pronation, as assessed with navicular drop, during static stance. Twenty-one healthy young adults participated. Navicular drop was … Read more

Electric Stimulation Increases Strength and Decreases Pain in Patients with Osteoarthritis

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) reduces structural and functional losses of quadriceps muscle and improves health status in patients with knee osteoarthritis. J Orthop Res. 2013 Apr;31(4):511-6. From the study: “OA patients presented smaller vastus lateralis thickness (11.9 mm) and fascicle length (20.5%) than healthy subjects (14.1 mm; 24.5%), and also had a 23% smaller knee … Read more

Electric Muscle Stimulation for Strength, How to Make It Work.

”Electromyostimulation–a systematic review of the influence of training regimens and stimulation parameters on effectiveness in electromyostimulation training of selected strength parameters. J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Nov;25(11):3218-38. ” Since I plan to discuss a number of studies on electric stimulation, I figured I should get this one out there. It gives some background as to which … Read more

EMS Decreases Back Pain, Increases Core Strength, Endurance

“Effects of electrical stimulation program on trunk muscle strength, functional capacity, quality of life, and depression in the patients with low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Rheumatol Int. 2009 Jun;29(8):947-54.” Right now this is my favorite electric muscle stimulation (EMS) study with regards to low back pain as I read it soon after I … Read more