Living with backaches and neck pain can interfere with your daily activities. These chronic conditions prevent you from completely enjoying any activities and engaging with life.

Thankfully, various practical and effective interventions are available for providing long-term solutions to back pain. While a single therapeutic intervention can be effective, following a combined approach is always more fruitful.

One of the most popular and effective treatments for treating back and neck pain is Electric Muscle Stimulator (EMS) therapy. But what is EMS therapy? Where can you get EMS therapy? In this guide, we'll answer all your queries regarding EMS MUSCLE STIMULATOR therapy for back and neck pain.

What is Electronic Muscle Stimulator (EMS) Therapy?

Electronic muscle stimulation uses electrical impulses to diminish pain and reduce muscle stiffness in a particular area of the body (lower back, shoulder, neck, etc.).

Typically, the EMS therapy is delivered to these affected areas using an impulse generating device attached to an electrode pad. These electric pads for muscles induce a low-voltage electrical current to concerned muscles. The electrical impulses reignite your muscles' ability to contract.

Improving the frequency and strength of muscle contraction can help alleviate your back, shoulder, and neck pain, enhance physical functioning, retrain agile muscular movements that you may have lost, and minimize inflammation. 

What Happens During An Electronic Muscle Stimulation Therapy?

The most modern and effective electronic muscle stimulation therapy uses portable devices for delivering impactful electrical stimulation to your muscle fibers.

The portable EMS devices generally have an electrode pad for delivering the electronic impulses and an impulse generating device that connects with the electrode through a magnetic connect buckle. You need to connect the device and the electrode before attaching it to your skin. Once you've connected them together, you'll need to place the electrode on the affected area.

Generally, these electrodes have gel padding for establishing a secure connection. Once you've securely placed the electrode, press the start button to initiate the impulse generation. In most devices, you can control the intensity and the mode of vibration. Continue the therapy for 15-20 minutes. If you wish to continue more, it is recommended that you take a 5 min break before starting the next session.

How Does The EMS Muscle Stimulator Work?

The electrical impulses generated by the electric pads for muscle induce a rhythmic muscle contraction.

• The rhythmic contraction improves tissue perfusion, blocks pain, nervous signals, and releases tension build-up within your muscles.
• The electronic stimulation may also enhance your muscle strength and endurance capacity. Endurance signifies the frequency of muscle contraction before it fatigues.
• In certain cases, the Muscle Stimulator can minimize swelling and improve circulation, leading to increased tissue healing and inflammation control.

When Can You Use Electrical Muscle Stimulation?

You can use the EMS for the following conditions:

• Upper and lower back pain
• Postural aches
• Fibromyalgia
• Joint pain
• Sciatica
• Arthritis
• Muscle conditioning (mostly for athletes)
• Nerve injury/inflammation
• Muscle injury from trauma
• Post-surgical recovery

What Are The Contraindications For Using Electronic Muscle Stimulators?

• The electronic impulses can interfere with the impulses generated by the implanted pacemaker device, defibrillator, etc.
• Refrain from using the device if you have a history of severe cardiac arrhythmia, angina, or heart failure since the electronic device can disrupt your heart's natural rhythm in such conditions.
• Pregnancy
• Children aged below 12 years of age.

How To Enhance The Benefit Of EMS Therapy?

Back and shoulder pain can have a debilitating effect on your regular lifestyle. Combined therapy with EMS, exercises, and other physical therapies can be helpful.

Muscle and core strengthening exercises can help increase muscle strength and reduce the chances of neck strain and backaches. Additionally, tech neck can be caused by a condition called "tech neck".

Here are the Experts’ Views on How to Relax Body Muscles

George Young | Founder of YANRE FITNESS Says,

Meditation: Meditation Done right is incredibly powerful. If you can't reduce the stress, no matter how much foam rolling you do, you will have knots in your back/shoulders/neck. Depending on where you live, sometimes there are free meditation sessions.

Massage: While Participating in meditation, getting a massage can be helpful, especially if you go to the person on a regular basis. I got a massage at a time when I was really stressed in my life and it helped me a lot.

Movement: We do a lot of sedentary work on a regular basis. I have a desk job (for the most part) and could be sitting in my desk chair for upwards of 6 to 8 hours a day. That is not good for posture, not good for mental health, and just not good in general. Next time you're on a conference call, get a remote headset on and move. Even if it is just standing there and going up and down on your tiptoes Movement cures.

• Massage gun
• Essential oil diffuser
• Foam roller
• Acupressure mat
• EMS Devices 

Alina Clark | Co-Founder of COCODOC Says,

Muscle tension is caused when a muscle contract and does not release. It can be caused by overuse, sometimes by incorrect gym workouts or through stress (physiological or sometimes psychological), or poor posture. Exercises alone may not help. There are a few ways to overcome this,

1. Rest
2. Hot baths
3. Massaging the affected area
4. Gentle stretches elongate the muscle to release the tension
5. Meditation and yoga poses

Sometimes it is really helpful to drink some juices like pomegranate, blueberries, or cherries.