Body builders now taking electrical muscle stimulations

Importance of our musculature

One of the most important tissues of the body is our muscles which are structured in a way to provide maximum benefits to the body. These are the connecting tissues between two consecutive bones which form a joint and are responsible for plenty of activities. 

For an activity to take place like bending of knee joint, the muscle receptors send a signal to brain which sends the motor signal to the muscle to contract efficiently. The muscle start constricting just like a wave rolling and a planned coordinated activity takes place. 

There are slow twitch red fibers and fast twitch white fibers in the muscle. The red fibers contract first, conserve energy and get exhausted soon. The white fibers are strong and manage the excess load and thus act more as reserve. Hence, it is actually impossible to activate all muscle fibers simultaneously.

How does an EMS work?

The electrical muscle stimulation machine is applied in a way that the pads are placed just over the skin of the area affected for smooth passage of current and works as:

•          Fires all motor neurons together unlike voluntary contraction.
•          The muscle group creates an isometric and non synchronized contraction.
•          Body’s energy is predominantly conserved.
•          High intensity current converts intermediate fibers into white fibers by spilling the current over left out muscle fibers.
•          The athlete experiences an intense and varied work out stimulus which was not possible by any other method.

Functions of EMS in sports training

•          Augmenting maximum strength: It improves overall muscular strength and induces high muscular tension compared to active contractions.
•          Rehabilitation: Post injuries or muscle disorders, EMS are used to bring back muscle’s original functioning along with making the patient undergo an intense exercise program.
•          Means of recovery: It can be continuously used for many days to establish the fitness of athlete and develop enough strength.
•          Re education of muscles: It teaches the muscles over and over again, how to function like usual. It improves blood circulation while stimulates highly weakened muscles which are not capable of self contracting.           

Effects of EMS in body building

Now a days portable electrical muscle stimulator is also being incorporated in an entirely different area of sports i.e. body building. Trained and experienced coaches are stimulating the muscles electrically chiefly to build the muscle density and tone so that they give a puffy look. 

Not only this, improved looks of the bulky muscles like deltoid, triceps and biceps have also encouraged lean people to participate in such events. Thin build people are given EMS application a little while before the sports event since it burns off a fat layer temporarily and restores it. 

The key points to remember for an EMS use are elevation of the area to be treated, starting with larger muscle groups, keeping the area free of ointments, gels or solutions and taking it preferably before going to bed.