Electrical Muscle Stimulation Decoded
As seen in and , exercise physiologist and Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences聽Alexander Rothstein, Ed.D., comments on electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), or sending electrical impulses to the body鈥檚 muscles. According to Rothstein, the practice鈥攚hich requires wearing a specialized suit containing electrode pads鈥攖riggers bodily muscles to artificially contract, independent of the brain, and 鈥渁ctually could have some benefit in teaching the brain that it’s OK to allow a muscle to contract harder.鈥�
Rothstein explains that while EMS should not be one鈥檚 primary form of exercise, it is acceptable for occasional use.
鈥淲e can use muscle contraction with this technique to potentially gain strength and activate more muscle,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t does seem to actually cause some level of adaptation where we grow some muscle.鈥�