Rehabilitation

EMS and Rehabilitation Devices

Where TENS targets the sensation of pain, EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) makes the muscle itself contract. That makes it useful when a muscle has weakened through injury, surgery or a spell of immobility, and while you are working back towards normal loading. The devices here run from a straightforward home unit to a multi-therapy machine of the kind used in clinics.

Matching the device to the job

• Straightforward muscle work: Perfect EMS — dual channel, preset programmes for conditioning and toning, nothing to configure.
• Training and recovery: Unifit combines TENS and EMS in one unit, so you can run a recovery programme after a session and a pain programme later the same day.
• Multiple therapies in one: Unipro offers TENS, EMS, interferential (IFT) and microcurrent (MIC) — the choice for physiotherapists, and for long-term home programmes set by a clinician.
• Cable-free: FORM Wireless EMS attaches straight to the muscle, so nothing tethers you to a handset while it runs.
• Targeted vibration: the Pointra focal vibration device applies vibration to a specific point rather than a broad area, and is used alongside stretching and soft-tissue work.

A note on programmes. Rehabilitation is progressive. Start with short sessions at a low intensity and build only as the muscle tolerates it — a contraction should be firm, not painful. If you are recovering from surgery or a significant injury, have your physiotherapist set the programme, the pad placement and the session length rather than working from the presets alone. Pad placement changes which fibres are recruited, and it is the part most people get wrong.

Replacement pads are in Electrodes, leads and batteries in Accessories, and devices aimed at pain rather than muscle work are in Pain Relief.

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. EMS is not suitable for everyone. Check with your doctor if you have a pacemaker or another implanted device, epilepsy, a heart condition, or you are pregnant.