I’d like to post a thread in various installments containing more scientific education about EMS. Shall I do it in this thread or in another Expert Discussion thread?
Is there any interest in learning more about how EMS works? I’ve noticed that education on this subject is lacking in the USA; I do not know about Canada. On purpose I audited a master-level class for physiotherapists this month, at a more than respectable university. I sat in during the week in which EMS was being taught. There isn’t much theory, nor practical aspects that are being taught, and that can be used by practitioners.
Most physiotherapists I’ve come across in Canada don’t know how to use it properly. It’s quite sad. I was talking to Charlie about this.
Here is one example: I know that there is a great need to use EMS for muscle re-education and mass retention after a knee injury or knee surgery. The Vastus Medialis needs the stimulation and EMS provides the necessary work without stressing the knee joint. But I rarely see it used in this fashion.
It seems that simple TENS and Interferential are the most popular applications - and mostly used for pain relief.
I’m a PT in the US and agree that the most common types of e-stim used are TENS and Interferential (IFC). If you stop and think about this for a moment, it makes sense, even though it may be disheartening for some. The main diagnosis that is treated in every clinical setting is pain. To improve outcomes and help our patients, we need to focus on all types of treatment that deal with pain reduction with e-stim being one of those. Most therapists and most clinics are not training athletes of either low or high classification. Therefore, there does not need to be a big focus on strengthening protocols with e-stim. There does need to be some as it can be useful, but the protocol needed for the post joint replacement patient will differ from the high class sprinter.
To summarize, I see the reason for focusing on e-stim for pain relief/control in clinical settings since pain is the most common diagnosis. I also agree that more time could be spent on researching/using e-stim for strengthening of patients, athletes and general population as that is an untapped market. Some of this is being done at this time as there are new types of currents and programs being used (Patterned (PENS), direct current, etc.). I also disagree that e-stim is needed for most total joint replacement patients. I have treated many and very rarely do they require e-stim, but I agree that it could be used in that situation and be effective if necessary. Of course, someone else may have completely different experiences with their patient population.
What’s your suggestion? Shall I start posting my EMS theory guide in a separate thread? Under what category? Advanced Sports Sciences? I was thinking also of restricting comments, so that it would be easier to search the various installments. Comments would be posted in a separate thread. Please let me know what you think.