Electric stimulation, nerve stimulation, muscle stimulationThe question always arises again why athletes lift weights for hours in the gym, although the muscle stimulus can also be set externally. The idea of muscle gain and the associated fat burning on the couch in front of the TV is especially popular with training muffins. However, die-hard strength athletes and fitness enthusiasts usually think little of electrostimulation and prefer training with dumbbells to this method.
To increase the training stimulus, this form is often combined with conventional (eccentric and concentric) training. However, this form of strength training should be used with caution, as it places particularly high demands on the muscles. This method of muscle innervation through external electrical stimulation has advantages and disadvantages. (see below)
EMS Training
The abbreviation EMS, as used in EMS training, stands for electromyostimulation, the electrical muscle stimulation. It describes a whole body muscle training with the help of electricity. The advertising promises of the providers turn out to be far-fetched, but which of them is reality?
In any case, EMS training takes place in a special suit with integrated electrodes. This suit is connected to the EMS device via a cable. The trainee receives current pulses lasting 4 seconds each time through the suit.
This is followed by another 4-second break. In this scheme, simple exercises (such as knee bends) are performed under one-to-one supervision by a trainer. No additional weights are necessary.
The 20-minute training program is designed to stimulate all muscles of the body to the maximum in order to achieve a highly effective training in the shortest possible time. Basically, this method – or the idea behind it – is not new and has been well researched scientifically. Electrical stimulation of the muscles from outside works because EMS only imitates natural body processes: Every muscle movement of the body is preceded by an electrical impulse, which normally comes from the brain and is conducted to the muscle via nerve tracts.
This electrical stimulus triggers the contraction of the muscle. However, EMS training should not be viewed in a completely uncritical light. The success and safety of this form of training depends to a large extent on the training and the level of knowledge of the trainer, which unfortunately varies greatly from provider to provider.
Good trainers point out the danger of overtraining, avoid too high current levels and recommend EMS training only as a supplement to regular endurance and strength training. Pure EMS training can never completely replace sporting activity, even though many advertising promises to do just that. The abbreviation TENS means transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.
This means the stimulation of nerve fibers with the help of electric current through the skin (transcutaneous). It is mainly used for pain patients. The goal of TENS is to raise the pain threshold of the affected person, so the patient can bear his pain more tolerable.
With the help of electricity one tries to activate the body’s own nerve fibers, which inhibit the transmission of pain signals to the brain at the level of the spinal cord. If these inhibitory signals are particularly strong, only a fraction of what is perceived as pain by receptors in certain parts of the body reaches the brain. As a result, the patient should become less aware of the pain and thus more tolerable.
Many patients also report an improvement in their symptoms. Unfortunately, however, this improvement is seldom resounding, but usually rather moderate. An exclusive TENS pain therapy is usually not sufficient, especially since the effectiveness of the procedure is not sufficiently proven purely objectively and is therefore considered controversial.
Some studies prove an effectiveness, while others deny it. The slight improvement of some patients could possibly also be attributed to the placebo effect of this method. In order to clarify this question finally, large methodically good studies, from which clear results could be read off, are missing. Nevertheless, the TENS method is now recognized by many health insurance companies and can certainly be used in suitable patients in addition to the usual, drug-based pain therapy.
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