Are you recovering from an injury or dealing with pain? If so, electrical stimulation might benefit you. Therapeutic electrical stimulation dates back to ancient Egypt. They used certain fish to generate an electrical current to treat various conditions. Nowadays, physicians and therapists have many different e-stim devices at their disposal.

What Is Electrical Stimulation?

E-stim is a form of physical therapy. It involves the application of electrical current through electrodes positioned on the skin to treat various conditions. The idea behind this form of treatment is that electrical current can help strengthen muscles, improve blood circulation, and block pain signals.

Do you have an illness or injury causing pain? Is it preventing you from comfortably moving around? If so, your physician may recommend e-stim as part of your treatment plan. The pulses generated by the electrical stimulation device mimic the action of signals produced by neurons. These mild pulses target either nerves or muscles.

Why Healthcare Professionals Recommend E-stim

Healthcare experts use electrical stimulation for various physical therapy purposes. Some of these include:

• To help decrease muscle spasms or pain

• To improve weak muscles or muscles not functioning correctly

• To reduce inflammation

Electrical stimulation can help treat conditions like tendonitis, low back pain, bursitis, muscle weakness, postsurgical pain, and poor motor control. Also, studies suggest that e-stim can help treat stubborn wounds.

Electrical Stimulation Process

The body is an incredibly complex machine. It consists of separate pieces and parts that send messages to the brain and each other through the nerves. The process of electrical stimulation involves tapping into the network of signals going back and forth throughout the body to achieve various goals.

• Controlling the Brain

If electrical signals control the body, the brain is the command center. Electrical stimulation is a way to hack the brain. So, e-stim can manipulate anything the brain controls. That includes motor skills, cognitive performance, and emotions.

• Rehabilitation

The most common use of e-stim is during physical therapy. Poor activation and muscle atrophy are significant problems after joint surgery or injury. Physical therapists use an e-stim unit to trigger isometric contractions of the quadriceps. That will help with voluntary contractions and prevent atrophy.

• Pain Relief

Are you experiencing pain? If so, your body is sending a message to your brain through your nerves. Electrical stimulation can block pain signals when applied correctly. Your brain will never receive the message from the pain receptors in the affected area. Hence, you will not experience pain.

• Compensating for Paralysis

Besides rehabilitation, physical therapists can use e-stim to compensate for paralysis. Let’s say your spinal cord and brain cannot communicate with your shin muscles. You might experience foot-drop when walking due to the paralysis of the shin muscles. Walking will be unsafe and difficult. An e-stim device can stimulate the paralyzed shin muscles, eliminating your walking difficulties.

To determine whether electrical stimulation can benefit you, consult your doctor. If you have a pacemaker or open wounds, you should not use this form of therapy without your doctor’s approval.

For more on electrical stimulation or to book a visit, call Jassy Chiropractic Center at (804) 379-1145 to reach our office in Midlothian, Virginia.