Electro Stimulation - Tesmed TE 780 PLUS Manual De Instrucciones

Electro stimulation

Electro stimulation is a technique that provokes muscular contractions ver y
similar to voluntary contraction thanks to electrical impulses acting on the motor
points of the muscles. As ever yone knows, muscles contract when they receive
an impulse coming from the ner vous system and then return to their normal
length once they are no longer stimulated thanks to their elasticity.
A motor ner ve fibre splits into several ramifications before entering the muscle
and ends at the motor end plate. The ner ve fibre and the group of muscular fibres
innervated by this make up the motor unit.
A muscular fibre responds to the electrical stimulus only when the intensity of the
stimulus reaches a threshold value, which is specific to each fibre. The most
obvious use of the electro stimulation of inner vated muscles is in kinesiatherapy
of atrophy, functional reanimation after a long periods of immobility , in vasodila-
tion, pain reducing and in stimulating the treated tissues to combat cellulite (PAS-
SIVE EXERCISE). When treating a patient with electro stimulation, the following
are crucial: the correct positioning of the electrodes, the stimulation program and
the wave type.
Electrodes: the positioning of the electrodes is crucial. It must provide accurate
stimulus parameters for the zone being treated since the conductivity of body tis-
sues varies according to their structure, aqueous and ionic make-up. The electro-
des must be in per fect contact with a thoroughly clean skin (also depilated, if
necessary). This ensures better penetrability and permeability of the skin when
receiving the stimulus to suit the application to be carried out. FOR BETTER
ELECTRODE CONDUCTIVITY we recommend they be replaced when they loose
adherence. They can also be cleaned with running water or wiped with a damp
cloth; leave to dr y before using them again for a few more applications. W e
recommend using Tesmed electrodes exclusively, as electrodes of different sizes
and composition could cause burns. NB: With electro stimulation, the current
density diminishes as the tissue consistency increases.
Tiredness: excessive contraction/relaxing of the muscles due to electrical stimu-
lus often results in a drop in the relaxation of the neurotransmitters, thus resul-
ting in muscle fatigue. The scientific explanation is as follows: the stimulus tends
to provoke the recruitment of large diameter motor neurones (these have a low
threshold), thus exciting the more consistent and faster muscle fibres (FIBRES 2
or white fibres). These tire more easily , but they use less effort than FIBRES 1 or
red fibres. In other words, the higher the frequency of stimulus, the more tired
the muscle becomes. For this reason, it is important to include relaxation
programs and get medical advice. Having said this however , Tesmed´s sports
programs already contain a relaxation phase. During treatments using the electro
stimulator, ever y increase in intensity must be done gradually . If there is
EXCESSIVE contraction, you must reduce the intensity . In fact, stimulation must
not provoke muscular tetany (i.e. long continuous contractions). There are no
standard rules for the number of contractions and the duration and frequency of
the sessions. These must be set to suit each person and the condition of the
tissues to be treated. When treating areas affected by CELLULITE, you should
normally start the treatment by gradually raising the intensity until the patient
starts to feel a slight tingling, but without creating excessive contraction of the
muscles or an unpleasant sensation of localised heat.
To sum up: the vasomotor and metabolic effects induced by the passage of an
electrical current considerably increase the consistency and quality of tissues.
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