What do people use electric muscle stimulators for?
- Recovery – increase blood flow and remove lactic acid
- Training – power, endurance, strength, size, etc.
- Rehabilitation – building and strengthening muscle
- Prevention – warmup before exercise
- Appearance – muscle toning
My story: How I’ve benefited from electrical muscle stimulation
I own a Compex Muscle Stimulator myself and originally bought it to help strengthen my quadriceps, in preparation for skiing.
When I was younger I had some cartilage removed from my knee – I had big problems with it before the surgery – and have done since. I don’t think I ever did the right rehabilitation.
More recently, I’ve worked with a physical therapist who advised me to strengthen the muscles in my legs, particularly the quadriceps.
He told me:
I needed to make the muscles stronger and reduce the strain on the knee joint.
I’d always convinced myself that I had a dodgy knee and there was nothing much I could do about it… how wrong I was.
At first I didn’t take much notice to what the physical therapist had said about my quadriceps. It’s not that I didn’t want to exercise or put the effort in.
The problem I’ve always had:
Is with impact. I love running – but unfortunately, my knees just can’t take it. I can manage to cycle but if it’s really intense my knee can become a bit problematic – and there’s only so much I can do with leg weights.
Researching electric muscle stimulators
So I took it upon myself to do some research and found out about EMS and how it could be used to help build muscle. I liked the idea of it, especially because there is virtually no strain on the joints.
I then decided to search for the best EMS machine, based on personal requirements.
After looking into a number of different devices, I discovered the highly rated Compex brand. Their devices looked great and consumer reviews were strong.
I compared their range of units and decided I wanted the top-of-the-line device with the most programs! It didn’t take me long to convince myself that I’d make use of all the programs.
It’s a good job I did in the end because the two programs I now use most are for recovery and massage, (I’ll come onto recovery).
TENS unit reviews: knowledge is power
For a more detailed look at specific models and in-depth product analysis we’ve put together a series of TENS unit reviews, these can all be found in the pain management section of the site.
Our research and reviewing process is detailed and comprehensive – but our reviews are uncomplicated and simple to understand. They have been designed in a way that makes them easy to digest, with supporting diagrams, examples and case studies. On top of this, our process is constantly evolving to make it even better.
We highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each unit we review and provide a balanced argument – for or against – with pros and cons. Most importantly, we like to provide context and scenarios to help paint a clearer picture.
Our final appraisal of the device takes into account its features, how easy or difficult it is to use and what sort of value for money it represents. This format enables you to directly compare one machine against another.
How to use the high potential therapy machine?
