How Electrical Stimulation Can Improve Your Recovery

By: Jessica Lowman, MOT, OTR/L

Electrical stimulation uses a mild electrical current to stimulate the nerves and muscles, promoting healing and reducing inflammation. There are two types of commonly used electrical stimulation:

  1. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) provides a sensory level of stimulation and is mainly used to reduce pain. You will feel it tingle, or like pins and needles, but it will not make your muscle contract. The amplitude should not be turned up to a point of pain. Electrodes are placed directly over/around the area that is painful, regardless of musculature under the skin.
  2. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) provides a motor level of stimulation meaning it sends electrical signals directly to your muscles as opposed to electrical signals coming from your brain and spinal cord to make your muscles contract. It is used for a variety of reasons, including strengthening muscles/preventing atrophy, increasing and maintaining range of motion, reducing muscle spasticity or tone, increasing cardiovascular function in musculature, as well as improving bone density. Like TENS, you can often feel tingles or pins and needles, but you will also feel your muscles contracting. The amplitude should not be turned up to a point of pain in your muscle or on your skin. These electrodes are placed over certain muscle groups, depending on what movement your therapist is trying to elicit.

At Sheltering Arms Institute, we use a variety of tools and protocols to deliver electrical stimulation. Some of these include:

1. RTI 300 FES Bikes: These bicycles can be used on the arms as well as the legs. Electrodes are placed over multiple muscle groups at a time. The bike then delivers electrical stimulation while it also cycles the legs or arms simultaneously, making this “functional” e-stim, or e-stim that is used during a functional task such as cycling.

2. Bioness H200s and Bioness L300 Gos: This type of electrical stimulation is also considered “functional” e-stim as they are also used in conjunction with functional tasks such as walking with the L300 Gos or grasping and releasing objects with the H200s.

 

3. Shoulder Subluxation Stimulation: Some people may experience a glenohumeral subluxation, or a slight dislocation of the shoulder after a neurological injury such as stroke or spinal cord injury. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation can be applied to the affected area using small electrodes placed on the skin around the shoulder, specifically on the posterior deltoid and on the supraspinatus to reverse this subluxation of the joint and further protect the shoulder.

*While electrical stimulation is a highly researched modality deemed safe for most people, there are several contraindications, including, but not limited to people with metastasized cancers, people with history of seizures, people with open wounds on or around the placement of electrodes, people with implanted cardiac rhythm devices, and people who are pregnant. The above information is not to be used as medical advice. Sheltering Arms Institute encourages all individuals to consult their personal doctor or physical/occupational therapist before utilizing electrical stimulation.

Image Credits:

Share This Post:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
RehaBlog

More Posts

The Interdisciplinary Approach in Rehabilitation to Multiple Sclerosis Care

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects nearly 1 million people in the United States alone. MS is an immune-mediated disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the myelin insulation that surrounds the nerves in the central nervous system. This damage causes widespread symptoms varying in severity, including fatigue, weakness, sensation loss, visual impairments, and walking and balance impairments. These symptoms of MS can impact someone’s mobility, quality of life, ability to work and provide for their family, relationships, and community participation. Because these symptoms can impact so many aspects of a person’s life, a rehabilitative care team should consist of multiple disciplines that work together to provide a collaborative, all-encompassing care plan, called interdisciplinary care.

9 Ways to Improve Sleep After a Concussion

After a concussion, there are a lot of common misconceptions about sleep. Mainly, is it safe to sleep following this mild traumatic brain injury? The answer is yes – it is okay to sleep after a concussion! This misconception stems from an out-of-date recommendation to wake the person up every hour to check on them. However, that is only if there is concern about the risk for a brain hemorrhage or bleed that wasn’t immediately apparent.

Clinical research scientist

Five Reasons to Participate in Research

During my participation in a clinical trial, I was able to learn first-hand about the process surrounding medical discoveries. I also gained an understanding of how to advocate for my health and learned to ask more questions about the risks involved in different medical treatments. Participation in research was incredibly beneficial to me personally. To help you learn more about research participation, we’ve compiled a list of 5 reasons to participate in research.

How to Measure Exercise Intensity

Target heart rate (HR) is a great way to measure exercise intensity to get the most out of your workout. For most people, it provides an accurate way to measure the safety of an activity in relation to the percentage of your maximum heart rate. However, for some people, because of several medications that regulate HR (such beta blockers) or the availability to acquire a device that monitors HR, using HR alone to measure exercise intensity can be challenging.

How to Maximize Physical Therapy Visits from Insurance

As a new year begins, so do new health insurance deductibles and benefits. It’s important to be aware of your healthcare expenses to plan for the year ahead. For those seeking physical rehabilitation services, including physical therapy, it’s important to remember that health insurance may not cover unlimited sessions. Understanding how to make the most of your visits covered by insurance is key to maximizing your benefits. Read on to learn how you can get the most out of your therapy visits while extending the time spent on your recovery to achieve your goals.

Start your Journey

Learn more about Sheltering Arms Institute

Contact a specialist at Sheltering Arms Institute to learn more about how you can gain more freedom in your everyday life.