Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS)
Everyone wants a perfect figure, but we all know there’s no magic pill – we need exercise and a healthy diet. But the reality is that most of us don’t have enough time to spend at the gym, and daily stress leaves us drained. The result? Weak muscles and excess weight that only gets harder to lose each passing year.
What is EMS?
Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) generates impulses by a device that are delivered through electrodes, which are placed on the skin in direct proximity to the muscles to be stimulated. The treatments contracts your muscles just like an active exercise.
Normally, it is your body that fires your muscles by sending electrical impulses from your brain through your central nervous system (CNS). But EMS allows you to engage in deep, intense, and complete muscular contractions without actually activating (or stressing) your CNS—not to mention your joints and tendons. And your body doesn’t know the difference between a voluntary contraction and an electrically stimulated one.
EMS technology is being used by a growing number of med-spas to support weight loss and build muscle for clients who want to improve their figure and health. EMS is also often used by athletes who are training to increase the intensity of their workout and speed the recovery process.
Can you really lose fat with electrical muscle stimulation?
EMS promotes a sustained reduction of body weight and body fat. Many clinical studies have proven the ability of EMS to build muscle and burn fat. Among them it this recent study entitled “Effects of high-frequency current therapy on abdominal obesity in young women: a randomized controlled trial”.
Getting started with EMS. At Foggiare Wellness Center, EMS therapy is central to customized programs designed for beauty, weight, aging, wellness and sports recovery. The Electrosculpt treatment is the only procedure today that combines EMS with infrared light therapy for a superior treatment. Visit foggiare.com to learn more and for new client specials.
In the study, a group of subjects received 30 minutes of high-frequency current therapy via a series of electrodes placed on their stomachs. The subjects did these sessions 3 times per week for 6 weeks, for a total of 18 EMS sessions. The researchers measured waist circumference, body mass index, subcutaneous fat mass (that’s fat found under the skin), and body fat percentage.
The results were surprising, especially considering these women didn’t modify their exercise or diet. The electrical stimulation caused significant effects on decreasing waist circumference, abdominal obesity, subcutaneous fat mass, and body fat percentage, leading the study to note in the final results that: “The use of the high-frequency current therapy may be beneficial for reducing the levels of abdominal obesity in young women.”
Other benefits of EMS
Numerous other studies have shown EMS to be helpful for everything from pain management to helping increase muscle blood flow for warming up prior to performance-related activities. Here’s some interesting information about how athletes use EMS: How To Use Electrical Muscle Stimulation to Enhance Performance, Build Power and VO2 Max and the podcast episode How the LA Lakers, The Boston Red Sox & Over 104 Other Professional Teams Are Maximizing Recovery.
Getting started with EMS
There are a number of devices on the market for EMS therapy at home. However, if your goal is weight loss or significant performance gains, it’s important to know what your doing – or leave it to a professional. It’s possible to place the electrodes improperly and stimulate muscle in a dangerous way (such as pulling joints in opposite directions), you can also get skin burns, or you can simply get no result at all.