1. Relieve pain - When scientists discovered the frequency at which the human body sends information about pain, they also found that there are similar frequencies that can prevent these pain messages. Imagine your pain signal is traveling along the train track, and the station master wants to stop the train. What they need to do is open a door on the track, which is likely to stop the train. This is a painful situation. When you are injured, you may have noticed that you automatically contract that area - producing movements that bring different signals to the brain and prevent the transmission of pain frequency. This is not the main purpose of EMS machines, but it is definitely something to be aware of. EMS also provides additional benefits of painkillers for patients who are unwilling or unable to take oral analgesics (such as anti-inflammatory drugs).
2. Muscle memory - It may sound a bit theoretical, but the neural pathways and information we've been talking about create a permanent trajectory in our minds. This is a bit like using a ruler to draw on a wooden table, leaving behind a little bit of grass. These 'gaps' are called our muscle memory. That's why David Beckham knew how to curl the ball up to the top corner after six months without playing. His body only remembers what to do. The same principle applies to fast runners: once they achieve a new personal best, their bodies' remember 'how to do it, making the next replication easier.
If you go further, please think about when you learned to walk and move. You (usually) understand the correct patterns of human movement. These models aim to provide us with effective and efficient services, while reducing the risk of injury. As we grow older, we become lazy and begin to develop bad habits, including poor posture. When this happens, some muscles become lazy and do not do their due work.
The same thing happens when people are injured. For example, when you frequently injure your knee joint, the thigh muscles (quadriceps femoris) will "close" as a protective mechanism. The reason is that our body interprets pain as danger (usually correct), so if moving the knee joint causes pain, it will try to close the muscles controlling the knee joint, so it will not cause further harm. After resolving the acute injury, your quadriceps may not 'reopen'. This is why athletes often suffer from secondary injuries after returning to sports. Although the initial wound has healed, the muscles are not as strong as before. EMS is very effective in this situation. The therapist identifies which muscles are not functioning and then manually 'stimulates' them using EMS machines. I will discuss in detail later how they achieved this.
3. Maximum muscle activation - This type of EMS treatment is similar to the above, but most commonly used in athletes. At any given time (such as when the quadriceps muscle contracts), you can actually only use 40% of the muscle fibers and electrical signals available in the leg. This situation occurs mainly because our bodies are very good at learning how to be effective. Therefore, if 40% of the work is completed, then it will be used entirely. This problem occurs when you try to push your body up to a greater weight than before. For example, weightlifters may attempt to lift heavier weights than before. As a result, they need to recruit as many available muscle fibers and electrical signals as possible. Unfortunately for all of us, this is not just about requiring your body to do so easily;
A very effective method is to move while connecting the EMS pad (in this case, lifting the barbell). Therapists can switch the machine to muscle contraction settings and then turn on the machine when the athlete lifts it. After a period of time, this will train the dormant muscle fibers to activate during the movement. Then, therapists can gradually reduce external stimuli as muscles form memories to trigger and complete movements. A huge warning is that EMS cannot replace training, but should serve as an aid to training.
