How Electrical Muscle Stimulators Help Injuries
December 23, 2009
When I was a teenager I used to tease my mother about getting older as she developed some joint stiffness in her knees and lower back. For my mother this would usually occur with over exertion and would go away with rest. Through my twenties I experienced minor lower back pain on and off after different activities. This was attributed to a fall I took while ice skating when I was fourteen. I had landed hard on my tailbone and had required some ultra sound treatments. When I reached my thirties the pain in my lower back pain was so bad I could hardly walk. Numerous doctor visits and seeing specialists finally determined I had a form of arthritis in the spine and sacroiliac joints. The pain was not the only factor, though. I also had swelling of the hands and suffered from frequent headaches.
As part of my treatment, I was placed on different medications and involved with focused physical therapy to alleviate pain and keep my joints moving and healthy. If the pain was too much at home, a therapist was only a phone call away. They used different methods to help me cope including massage therapy, ice packs, hot packs, ultra sound technology, and other methods including an electrical muscle stimulator. All these different therapies did provide enough relief for me to go home.
One winter when my symptoms were particularly bad the physical therapist working with me suggested that I take one of the electrical muscle stimulators home with me to wear. He told me that he would have my husband watch him set it up on me so that he could replace the electrodes on my back after I showered. The electrical muscle stimulator is used to increase the blood flow into the muscle.
This device is also used in victims of spinal cord injuries to help with muscles that are not longer being used to keep them from atrophying there is a regulator on the unit that allows the wearer to increase or decrease the stimulation. When I was wearing the electrical muscle stimulator I would feel slight tingles that would be going to the muscles. When I would go into muscle spasms I would turn on the stimulator to increase the blood flow to the area. This would help to disrupt the spasm and decrease my pain. The device is small enough to place in a pocket and the electrodes are flat so they do not show under clothing. It is a nice alternative for me at work so that I do not have to take pain killers which often make me too tired to perform my job duties.
As always, consult your doctor before beginning any treatment for injuries