E-stim sends mild electrical pulses through the skin to help stimulate injured muscles or manipulate nerves to reduce pain.

E-stim uses electrical pulses to mimic the action of signals coming from neurons (cells in your nervous system). These mild electrical currents target either muscles or nerves.

E-stim therapy for muscle recovery sends signals to targeted muscles to make them contract. (Flexing your biceps is a form of muscle contraction.) By causing repeated muscle contractions, blood flow improves, helping repair injured muscles.

Those muscles also improve their strength through repeated cycles of contraction and relaxation. E-stim can also “train” muscles to respond to the body’s natural signals to contract. This is an especially helpful benefit for stroke survivors who must essentially relearn basic motor functions.

The type of e-stim that focuses on pain relief sends signals on a different wavelength so they reach the nerves, rather than the muscles. Electrical stimulation can block pain receptors from being sent from nerves to the brain.

E-stim uses small electrodes placed on the skin. The electrodes are small, sticky pads that should come off with little discomfort at the end of the session.

Steady streams of electrical pulses are delivered to the electrodes, which are placed on your skin.   For muscular stimulation, the pulses will reach the muscles, signaling them to contract.  The electrical current will begin on a low setting and increased gradually.

Pulses aimed at the nervous system block the transmission of pain signals from reaching the spinal cord and brain. The pulses also stimulate the body to produce more natural pain-relieving chemicals called endorphins.

You’ll get a tingly, “pins and needles” feeling at the site.  And depending on the type of e-stim, you may feel a muscle twitch or contract repeatedly.

Each e-stim therapy session may last 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the condition being treated.

E-stim may be appropriate for the following conditions:

• back pain
• cancer-related pain
• dysphagia (trouble swallowing)
• fibromyalgia
• joint pain
• arthritis
• muscle conditioning (mostly for athletes, such as long-distance runners)
• muscle injury from trauma or disease
• nerve inflammation
• poor muscle strength
• urinary incontinence
• spinal cord injury
• stroke
• surgery recovery