NMES from EMS Physio Ltd
NMES
Neuro-muscular Electrical Stimulation – Below you can see an Organisation Chart showing the electrotherapy waveforms in either alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC)
An AC or DC current in low or medium frequency will result in NMES or pain relief or in some cases both. “Low frequency” is generally considered to be less than 1000Hz (typically, TENS) and “medium frequency” is in the range 1 – 10 kHz 1,2 (typically Interferential).
NMES is the umbrella term for any form of electrical stimulation applied at certain intensities to produce a muscular contraction.
How a muscular contraction produced by an electrical stimulation frequency is applied in practice is dependent on how the therapist sees fit to facilitate either muscular strength, endurance or therapeutic therapy for the patient using an EMS PHYSIO LTD unit.
The EMS 970 produces therapeutic voltage and current waveforms to provide muscle stimulation and relief from musculoskeletal pain.
Muscle stimulation may be used for muscle strengthening and rehabilitation in otherwise healthy subjects recovering from surgery, for muscle strengthening for critically or chronically ill patients or to (re)train weak or ineffective muscles. Equally, it can be used in any setting where increasing the strength and endurance of the muscle is required. The terms “Faradic” and “Galvanic” are still used to refer to specific “settings” but these settings can perhaps better be described by the nature of the waveform – AC or DC, bi-phasic or mono-phasic, symmetrical or asymmetrical, square wave or sine wave, etc.
Please also note that using a DC on a low-frequency the micro-current, as shown on the chart, also has the effect of healing when used to treat muscle tissue.
The EMS 960 offers Interferential therapy by employing medium frequency interferential currents used in 2 or 4-pole configurations to produce a low-frequency stimulation effect. Visit the product link to learn more about how Interferential works or visit this link
And finally, for the all-singing-all-dancing electrotherapy and NMES PLUS Ultrasound solution in your clinic choose the EMS 860 Combination Therapy unit – see more here
Professor Tim Watson offers more advice on NMES on his site electrotherapy.org