thnks a bunch, to be honest my machine is like manual so i have to set the intensity every ten seconds and then shut it off for 50, then back on its the most boring experience of my life
I have been using the Therastim w/ARP protocols for about 4 months now and have seen great results! Does anyone else have experience with this machine?
Questions for jasonb314:
What are the ARP protocols? I’m only familiar with the existence of the ARP trainer but not any of the usage guideliness for it.
What kind of results did you see?
The ARP trainer is actually an E-Stim unit called Therastim made by Physiodynamics. The people over at ARP call it an ARP Trainer. ARP protocols are basically methods used w/ the Therastim for warming up, strength training, rehab etc. I hope this makes sense.
Where can you buy this unit and how much?
If you are a physician you can buy it from Physiodynamics( around $4000), or you can rent an ARP Trainer from Dennis Thompson.($550) a month. His website is www.arpprogram.com Dennis has close ties with Jay Schroeder and is very good at getting everything out of this machine. He definitely knows his stuff. As far as the Therastim goes, it is expensive, but I have been very impressed by it. I strongly suggest looking into it.
Let me get this straight. You’re going to lease a stim that costs 4000 for 550 a month??? That’s like leasing a 100K Mercedes for 13,750 a month! Look around for a better deal.
I agree it is much more cost effective in the long run to buy it. However, I wanted to list all the options I know of to get your hands on this machine . Even though $550/month is expensive, you can rent it month to month and the protocols I learned from the ARP Program was worth the money to me. A person could rent the machine from ARP for a month, see if you like it, learn protocols that are specific to this E-STIM, and if you can buy it from Physiodynamics.
Could anyone please dumb down all of the science behind what makes the ARP trainer better than all other machines…on the site it talks about how it is the only machine that can penetrate the muscle and increase recovery in cell to cell communication 
…what is the difference between the ARP machine and say a regular EMS machine or even a machine like in a physical training room that has ems/tens/russ. stim…thanks for any info!!!
Yes, please explain this to me as well!
The ARP unit is eccentric.
Also for the leasing program on the ARP, I believe if you are going through Dennis Thompson it is 250 a month, and you will eventually spend $10,000. from what i know you cant just use it for a month then return it.
I believe there are a couple of options through ARP to rent/lease, so you would have to talk to Dennis Thompson about that. I do know for sure that you can rent it month to month because I did that. At least I assume anyone can. As far as a description of the machine, go to www.therastim.net I don’t think I’m allowed to go into specifics about the ARP protocols, but I will say the increases in strength and ability to recover with the combination of this unit and ARP protocols was awesome!
Scientific Basis of TheraStim’s® Unique Technology
PhysioDynamics, Inc.® used the following science and clinical research to develop the TheraStim® technology and describe its effects on the body.
Dr. Björn Nördenstrom’s extensive studies, including his book Biologically Closed Electric Circuits. Dr. Nördenstrom’s research provides compelling evidence that the human body is a biologically closed electrical system and that when disease or injury occur, there’s a charge formed in the affected deep soft tissue. For healing to occur, this charge has to be eliminated, either by the body itself or by an outside source of electrical current. When the charge of injury is not dissipated, scar tissue forms, leading to a permanent restricted range of motion that may be permanent. Chronic pain is often sourced in old injuries where this charge has been stored, rather than released. Thomas developed a waveform coupled with direct current to produce an electrotherapy modality that can penetrate deep enough into soft tissue to dissipate the charge of injury without causing surface pain or damage.
Dr. Yaköv Köts and the “Russian Stimul One” Machine. The advantage of “Russian Stim” was that its high voltage delivered a great amount of power to get deep tissue penetration and effect rapid results, especially with muscle conditioning. However, the high voltage could burn skin, and the use of heavy weights by patients during treatments made it very uncomfortable. Thomas wanted to resolve the machine’s disadvantages, so he developed a waveform generated by low voltage that could deeply penetrate soft tissue for healing and muscle conditioning, but with no surface pain or damage.
Surface Charge Theory. PhysioDynamics, Inc. developed this technology based on the work of Robert Becker (The Body Electric) and Nobel Laureats E. Nehr and B. Sakmann, in addition to Dr. Björn Nördenstrom’s studies. Becker determined that collagen becomes charged and forms scar tissue when physically abused, and Nehr and Sakmann demonstrated that cells communicate with each other electrically. At injured sites, cells embedded in charged collagen have their communication disrupted, preventing the reduction of inflammation and edema. Thomas’ theory holds that introducing electrical current to dissipate the charge in injured collagen will prevent the formation of scar tissue, reduce inflammation and reestablish intercellular communication. The application of electrical current is generally a more desirable approach than using steroids or other chemical agents. Again, TheraStim’s unique waveform and use of direct current gets deeper into injured tissue without surface pain or damage.
Trauma Repair Theory. This theory, also developed by Thomas, holds that severe injury triggers the production of scar tissue to wall off areas where charge has developed. If enough electrical current can be introduced into the area to eliminate the charge, the scar tissue itself will begin to breakdown – the matted down collagen will “un-mat”. Thomas believes TheraStim’s waveform and direct current penetrates deep enough to dissipate the charge of injury and prevent scar tissue from forming internally or externally – or break it down if it has developed. He believes this is the main reason TheraStim," is so effective in alleviating chronic pain resulting from old injuries – it actually breaks down scar tissue to release the stored charge of injury and allows the tissue to return to normal.
Bradykinin Theory. Bradykinin is a highly potent chemical produced by the body as a result of tissue damage. It’s a major factor in developing the usual effects of trauma – edema, pain, muscle spasms, etc. When collagen is injured, it becomes charged and creates an environment that stimulates the production of Bradykinin. Thomas’ theory is that introducing an electrical current deeply enough to eliminate the charge of injury will prevent the formation of Bradykinin and thus greatly reduce the effects of trauma. Here again, TheraStim’s waveform and direct current allow it to get electrical current very deep into tissue without surface pain or damage, thus reducing the formation of Bradykinin and accelerating healing.
So it looks like the Russian stim is still a good choice as long as you can endure it! But you can’t beat the price! The only question that remains is what is the difference between the Russian stim and a regular muscle stim?
I believe this is the answer,
Russian Stimulation
Russian Stimulation is a specific form of electro-stimulation with a Symmetrical Biphasic Square waveform produced by dividing a 2500 Hz carrier frequency into 50 Hz packets. Originally developed by the Russian Olympic team for muscle mass enhancement, is now often used for muscle strengthening, muscle spasms & Edema reduction in the United States.
Russian Muscle stimulation is similar to EMS. It is designed to stimulate motor nerves. However, the high frequency of 2500 Hz allows for deeper muscle penetration and a more complete/stronger contraction of the muscle fibers.
I think there are even some units that will do both russian stimulation and ‘normal’ EMS. Maybe that would give us the best of both worlds.
Here’s another one with versatility to consider!
http://store.yahoo.com/backstore/newdigbodelm.html
http://www.vitalitywebb.com/backstore/Bodystim.htm
What does Reciprocation mean?
From the manual of the unit that I have:
"Reciprocation means that while one channel is on; the other channel is off. During the next cycle, the off channel comes on and the other channel goes off.
An example:
Channel 1 and channel 2 reciprocate to each other. You turn up channel 1 to your biceps and channel 2 to your triceps. You turn the unit on and channel 1 stimulates the biceps and channel 2 is off. The unit then goes into a rest cycle and starts a stimulation cycle. Channel 2 stimulates the triceps and channel 1 is off and the whole process starts over again."
Hope that helps!
I read in CF’s Training for speed to use EMS as the final modality of the day" EMS work is always done at the end of the day."…last thing as research shows " EMS can increase blood flow to tendons by up to 45%." Knowing this, is there any use to using EMS (CRANKED BABY!!! ) Just prior to training?? I read an article that says schroder uses it on his athletes prior to lifting…“schroeders workouts are intricate and at times look frightening. Often they include an electronic stimulation session that leaves the muscles twitching involuntarily. " It feels like a pipe is being driven three feet up your butt,” Schroeder says, " then the training begins." Would this serve as a warm-up? They seem to be cranking the crap out of their muscles…sounds like a vietnamese prison camp… :eek: what do you all think??
For strength you crank it up. To help with a warm up it’s low intensity pulsing for 5 to 10min.
So if you crank it up prior to lifting that really fatigues the fast twitch fibers so that when you lift they get hit even deeper?? Is this theory correct or am I way off?
Thanks