How Electrical Stimulation Can Improve Your Recovery

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:

• rti 300 electrical stimulation – Bing images
• bioness h200 – Bing images
• bioness l300 – Bing images
• shoulder subluxation electrical stimulation – Bing images