I recently introduced one of my female athlete to EMS. The funny thing is that when she uses it on her legs she gets the most horrible itching sensation - so bad that she can’t bare even 1 on a 200 point EMS strength scale!
At first I thought she was just being a wimp but it turns out that she is fine with ems on her lower back and stomach!
The only thing I can think of is that where she shaves her legs the hair folicals are standing up under the skin and leading to itching.
Has anyone else had any problems like this and what can i do to prevent it?
Ive seen plenty of females with shaved legs use EMS with no problems.
What kind of pads are you using?
Are you wetting them enough(if they’re the kind that need to be wet)?
make sure they’re not cracked or worn.
change your pad placement. For example, if you place a pad over a nerve that supplies the muscles you can have contaction at a much lower intensity.
It could just be her legs are very sensitive to the stimulus. If so you may be SOL for using it on her legs.
Using Compex adhesive pads. They work fine on me. The pads I used were brand new (i use separate pads per person for hygene). There is no crackling and everything seems ok.
It is just strange because it isn’t an issue on the soles of her feet or stomach or lower back - e.g. everywhere she doesn’t shave!
Usually areas that are shaved work better because there’s no hair to impede the current
You could see how it is if she let her leg hair grow, if she’s willing to that is. Otherwise, unless somehow how she’s willing to tolerate it you won’t be able to use EMS on her legs
Her legs should be clean with no moisturizer or any oil based products (as this will damage the pads and also prevent the electrical stimulation from penetrating the skin)!
Also, some lotions are conductors. If you perform an ultrasound treatment before electrical stim, you must clean all of the conduction gel from the area. If there is any gel under the electrode, this will intensify the current transmition and can make the stim unbearable. It is a good way to burn the skin too.
Update: It is definitly the shaving! If they don’t shave for about 3 days the problem goes away. I spoke to a guy that has used ems on hundreds of people and he confirmed my suspitions.