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What is an Electric Muscle Stimulation Device?
Electric signal-based muscle stimulation is used in physical therapy, rehabilitation, and training in sports to increase endurance, recovery rate, and muscle strength. The electrotherapy field has therefore revolutionized these sectors with its practical use and technological innovation. The medical technology solutions or device used for such stimulation, muscle contraction, or external activation uses electrical impulses to mimic action potential coming from the Central Nervous System (CNS). They can be used to relieve pain across various muscular regions, including the upper body (triceps, biceps, deltoids, pectorals, trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, and forearms), core (rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominis, and erector spinae), lower body (quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductors, calves, hip flexors, and tibialis anterior), neck and jaw areas.
It enhances athletic performance and prevents issues like muscle atrophy in patients. It can help prevent muscle atrophy in patients with limited mobility and enhance performance in athletes by targeting specific muscle groups. The device typically includes electrodes placed on the skin over muscles, delivering controlled stimulation. EMS is also used for pain relief and post-exercise recovery by increasing blood circulation for ease of recovery, better performance, and management of pain in selective areas. The market for EMS devices and medical device design services have seen a surge in the past decades, and the value is expected to increase from US $1.2 billion as of 2024 to approximately US $2.5 billion by 2033, rising at a CAGR of 9.2% during this forecast period. In this blog, we will be delving into the advantages of EMS devices electronic muscle stimulators.
Source: Verified Market Reports
Growing market size of electro stimulator muscular pain relief devices
Working of Electric Muscle Stimulation Device
At times, when muscles are engaged in excessive activities, remain underutilized during low-intensity activities, or are undergoing fatigue etc., Type II muscle fibers may not completely adhere to quick and powerful voluntary contractions. This means that as the CNS delivers signals to the motor nerves in the muscles, smaller, slow-twitch fibers become activated prior to larger, fast-twitch fibers. EMS devices can recruit both types of fibers simultaneously for enhanced engagement of muscles, contraction, and relaxation. This helps in the perception of body movement, force, and position, commonly known as proprioception, leading to better endurance and recovery from injuries.
These devices send small electrical impulses to the skin via electrodes attached to pads for muscle relaxation, swelling reduction, pain relief, wound healing, and strengthening weak muscles in physical therapy, training, and for fitness enthusiasts as well. Neuromuscular stimulation through electrodes placed in the middle of pain areas causes excitation of peripheral nerves using different intensities but low-level amperes of electrical signals for muscle contraction and maintenance of muscle tone.
Low-level EMS devices electronic muscle stimulators can modulate signals related to pain sent to the brain and assist in the release of endorphins. These natural chemicals and mood enhancers are produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland located at the base of the brain during exercise, stress, laughter, etc. for relaxation, promoting a sense of euphoria, reducing pain, and to improve overall well-being. It is actively used post-stroke to maintain shoulder muscle tone and improve functioning, post-surgery for stimulation of muscles in thighs for treatment and to increase their strength, and in the treatment of urinary incontinence to contract pelvic floor muscles. Ultimately, this non-invasive technique stimulates muscle fibers for holistic treatment plans by tailoring the deliverables as per patient need.
Advantages of Electric Muscle Stimulation Device
We have already seen many benefits of utilizing these stimulators in the earlier sections. It is fair to say that these devices have revolutionized muscle rehabilitation by providing various benefits such as improved blood circulation, muscle strength, endurance, and recovery; reduced inflammation and swelling (peripheral edema in limbs like hands, feet, and ankles), prevention of injuries; and management of conditions like neuromuscular dysfunction.
Augmented Endurance
Electrotherapy machines like muscle stimulators enhance contractions for better muscle growth. This can also prevent muscle atrophy (wasting), where muscle tissues shrink due to prolonged inactivity, malnutrition, injury or other medical conditions. It is beneficial for rehabilitation in the case of people experiencing limited functionality and mobility leading to reduced muscle strength and mass. They enhance flexibility and range of motion in individuals with muscular restrictions by relaxing muscles, decreasing stiffness, spasms, and recovery against Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
Pain Relief
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) using EMS devices electronic muscle stimulators can block signals related to pain that are sent to the brain. This assists in naturally killing pain sensation through effective release of endorphins. They promote neuroplasticity by reviving neural pathways that form the basis of activating muscles. It is especially necessary for rehabilitation from strokes and other medical conditions leading to impairment of motor functionalities.
Enhanced Circulation
Through these devices muscle soreness and inflammation can be reduced effectively, and patients can recover faster from injuries. This is because they improve the blood flow to muscle tissues, aiding oxygen and nutrient delivery, and remove waste products like lactic acid from the body for better cardiovascular health. By incorporating the use of wearable health monitoring devices and these devices in their training regimens, athletes can enhance endurance and muscle strength. They can be used for targeting specific muscle groups as discussed earlier for extra conditioning, improving muscle activation, developmental balance and endurance, effective output, workout recovery, neuromuscular efficiency, and preventing overuse injuries.
Alleviated Inflammation
These devices can also reduce swelling and inflammation around the injury region for quicker healing as they stimulate the lymphatic system. These electro stimulator muscular pain relieving devices improve circulation to injured or swollen tissues, accelerate heating, promote lymphatic drainage, and stimulate muscle regeneration and regrowth. Apart from this, many athletes utilize EMS devices to supplement training techniques and increase muscle explosiveness and endurance due to their specific feature of targeting muscle fibers with more impact as compared to voluntary contractions.
Sample workflow of electro stimulator muscular pain relief devices and effective areas
Muscle Rejuvenation
As discussed earlier, these devices developed through medical device contract manufacturing, assist in improving blood circulation across the body and affected regions. This leads to a reduction in muscle soreness and swifter muscle recovery. In cases where individuals suffering from any injury are unable to engage in regular physical activity or patients who have undergone surgery, they can maintain muscle strength and mass for recovery during the immobilization period. These are useful in preventing inactivity-related blood clots and other post-surgical complications, facilitating functional rehabilitation, and preventing long-term deterioration of muscles through nerve stimulation.
Injury Prevention
EMS devices electronic muscle stimulators are useful in strengthening and balancing overall development and can therefore aid in the prevention of future muscle injuries. Wearable product design and development such as for EMS is also deemed to be useful in reducing chronic lower back pain as an effective non-invasive alternative to surgeries, etc. They produce a positive impact on the body to reduce muscle atrophy and assist in increasing strength for patients recovering from Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) or Posterior Cruciate Ligament (cruciform ligaments in the knee) reconstruction.
Neuromuscular Dysfunction
EMS devices post thorough medical device testing, also act as effective solutions for managing neuromuscular injuries, conditions, or disorders by enhancing motor control and preventing weakening of muscles. They can reduce limited muscle functionality, spasticity (stiff, tight, overly contracted) and enhance muscle strength for longer durations against neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and strokes. This is because they facilitate reconnection between the CNS and muscular areas under pain for recovery of productive motor control. They increase blood flow for relaxation, reduce nerve irritation, and relieve long-term tensed muscle pain to interrupt spasm cycles.
Others
In some specific cases, these devices have proven to be useful in treating muscle spasms, which are involuntary and sudden muscle contractions leading to muscle stiffness and excessive pain lasting from a few seconds to minutes. It may occur due to dehydration, overuse of muscle tissues, poor posture, or injuries, particularly in the back, legs, or neck. These devices developed through medical device engineering services are said to be useful in retraining muscles and even increasing metabolism. Moreover, they can also be used to treat bedsores through circulatory stimulation in immobile or paralyzed patients, support weight loss through muscle engagement, improve muscle memory and learning in patients suffering from neurological conditions, and posture through effective muscle stabilization.
EMS devices electronic muscle stimulators have assisted a variety of individual age groups and use cases, including patients suffering from fibromyalgia (a cognitive condition characterized by stiffness in muscles, ligaments, and tendons), athritis, chronic back pain, limited mobility, and muscle weakness; athletes looking to enhance recovery and performance; post-surgical cases; people seeking alternatives to pain management; office workers suffering from muscle imbalances and poor posture; and elderly people looking to maintain muscle strength and functionality.
Strengthen Your Portfolio with KritiKal’s Electric Muscle Stimulation Device
KritiKal Solutions has developed user-friendly, customizable, and portable electronic muscle stimulators that assist in rehabilitation and enhancement of performance. The handheld device implements therapeutic waveforms for treating medical conditions like insomnia, anxiety, pain, and depression. It supports features like haptic and audio feedback, touch interface, Wi-Fi connectivity, auto screen brightness, over-the-air firmware updates handled by a secure cloud-based portal, RGB display, surveys and anonymous data collection, session logging, etc. These devices showcase an architecture with on-device security through cloud communication, hardware-based serial numbers, and hardware security modules for authentication. We have ensured compliance with FDA Class IIIand other regulations in healthcare through features like robust cybersecurity, usability, and scalability during their development while supporting different product variants.
EMS devices act as valuable tools and can prove beneficial for elderly people in care centres, athletes, amputees, patients, etc. as they optimize recovery and pain management. KritiKal assesses your needs before incorporating these devices into personalized treatment plans and regimens for enhanced pain relief in Type II muscle fibers, tissue repair, recovery, circulation, muscle activation, strength, neuroplasticity, and mobility. One must ensure to consult a physiotherapist or related healthcare professional prior to using an electric muscle stimulator, such as in cases of pregnancy, patients suffering from neurological conditions or individuals with pacemakers, although these are completely safe for users and maximize benefits, especially during stroke rehabilitation and recovery from motor impairments. Please get in touch with us at sales@kritikalsolutions.com to know more about our products, subscription services and realize your MedTech requirements.
Devesh Sehgal currently works as an Embedded Firmware Engineer at KritiKal Solutions. He is proficiently skilled in designing, developing, and optimizing firmware for microcontroller-based systems (PIC32, STM32, ATSAM), using logic analyzers (Saleae Logic Analyzer), oscilloscopes, and debug tools (PICKIT 4, ICD3, STLINK V2).With his ability to implement various communication protocols (GPIO, SPI, I2C, UART, ADC, CAN, PWM, USB), configuration and utilization of timers, and integration of real-time operating systems like FreeRTOS. he has assisted KritiKal in delivering various projects to some major clients.