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03-09-2006, 07:46 PM
| #1 (permalink) |
| Rank: Bantamweight Experience: 1-2 Years  Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: PA
Posts: 687
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|  miscellaneous Q&A electric muscle stimulation Q:I read about one of these new electrical muscle stimulators. Do they really work? A:Electrical muscle stimulation machines have been marketed as bodybuilding "breakthroughs" for at least 15 years. Some marketers claim that if you hook yourself up to one of these machines and lie on the couch while watching TV, they will force your muscles to grow. (Are people that lazy these days?) Anyway, electrical stimulation of skeletal muscle involves the placement of surface or needle electrodes on or in muscles, which are then stimulated with a small electrical current in "waves" or intervals. This results in an isometric muscle contraction (tensing, but no change in muscle length). The problem is, isometric contractions are not optimal for increasing strength or muscle growth. In fact, the strength that is developed occurs only at the angle at which the contraction occurred. Thus, if you were trying to get a complete leg workout with an electrical muscle stimulator, you would have to move your leg through a dozen different ranges of flexion and extension and "zap" it in each position. Electrical muscle stimulation can be very beneficial to individuals with spinal-cord injuries, where the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscle has been damaged; however, if you're a healthy bodybuilder, there is absolutely no better way to work your muscles than through good old-fashioned weightlifting! |
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03-11-2006, 05:10 AM
| #2 (permalink) |
| Rank: Light Heavyweight Experience: 5-7 Years  Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,658
| It may be of interest to some that there are actually two very different kinds of these devices out there. There is a stim unit like what is described above, and what is called a tens unit. Both look dam near identical but are used for very different purposes. Stims as WM7 stated have been around for a long time, and seem to have the stigma of just another snake oil. I have never used one i wont really comment on it anymore. Tens units however are used in the treatment of deep muscle damage and atrophy. They run at a very low current, and help to repair muscle fibers. I've used this type of machine many times, and can say that while it doesnt "build muscle" per se. It can aid in the healing process after a brutal training session. |
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07-02-2006, 04:18 PM
| #3 (permalink) |
| Rank: New Member Experience: > 1 Year  Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Michigan
Posts: 2
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Gender:    | Here is my take on this... There are two factors in muscle contraction, and both revolve around chemistry. First, neurological stimulation comes from the nervous system to the motor unit. The cascading wave of ions from the nervous tissue to the muscle tissue prompts a chemical change inside the muscle cells and encourages them to contract. This process is active and under a load, in most cases. It's been shown that isometric does very little for strength in any joint angle other than the one the joint is at during the isometic force application. It has also been shown that very little, if any, hypertrophy occurs as a result of isometric training. An external electrical stimulator may provide isometric contraction but it is obviously passive and doesn't include the complex neurological activity that occurs in the brain. In addition, a question to be raised is does the machine stimulate the muscle tissue in the EXACT same way as the neurons do? What kind of damage occurs? Wha are the consequences of any damage that might occur? One last piece of information I was able to find. My wife is a Physical Therapist and she uses the TENS device almost daily. For those patients with a joint replacement, the TENS device is a common therapeutic tool. She told me that while patients do exercises to both sides of the body, the TENS device is usually only applied to the affected or injured side. She states that there is no unexpected strength or size increases on the affected side do to the application of the TENS device. For those scientists out there, I realize that does not qualify as a controlled study, however the general concept is solid. More investigation is required, but a hypothesis would be that there is no major muscular growth or increase in strength with external electrical muscule stimulation. If it were me, those devices are like snake oil and should be left in the hands of trained individuals. In paramedic class, we had to cardiopace ourselves, but our calf muscles in stead of our hearts. In cardio pacing, you connect two leads to the muscle and start applying electricity. This is very painful and definitely causes traumatic damage to heart tissue when a patient is being paced. Many of us had strange sensations in our calf muscles for a few hours. One student reported pain that took DAYS to resolve. Probably something you wouldn't want to mess with, especially when the currently available data seems to point to the contrary. That's my take on the whole thing. If I missed something or are unclear or flat out wrong, I take all the credit  |
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07-02-2006, 08:24 PM
| #5 (permalink) | ||
| Moderator Rank: Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years  Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,887
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Nice post. | ||
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07-02-2006, 09:58 PM
| #6 (permalink) |
| Moderator Rank: Light Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years  Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: CA
Posts: 4,112
Country:
Gender: | I see them good for abs maybe..Like what Bruce Lee used to have on while making a book on the typewriter..Or you could always take the "Jackass" approach to them like their 'educational' movie. On a more serious note, if the frequency was low enough, I could see them being extremely useful for muscle recovery and elliminating DOMS. |
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