Tens

Tens – Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation

A tens machine is a small portable battery operated machine which uses a mild electrical current to elicit pain relief. It consists of the unit, leads and pads. The pads are placed upon a painful area of the body, usually over a nerve pathway, and the unit is then switched on. A mild tingling sensation can be felt which is controlled by an adjustment knob. The theory is that this blocks pain signals to the brain or may even produce pain killing chemicals, therefore giving pain relief.

Benefits of Tens:

• Portable, painless, affordable treatment method
• Safe to use in the majority of clients
• Gives relief for both acute and chronic conditions
• Relieves swelling and pain in joints and soft tissues of the body

Ems – Electronic Muscle Stimulation

An Ems machine is also a portable machine in which pads are applied to the body. Unlike a tens machine, the ems has the ability to strengthen weakened muscles, especially after injury. We use small single units to stimulate a single body area, or our large model which can be used on multiple body areas.

When we contract a muscle, not all of the muscle fibres are recruited. Over half of our muscle fibres remain at rest but the ems may help to electrically stimulate these resting fibres. Ems improves the function of muscle fibre recruitment making muscle contraction and training more effective. The Ems is therefore very effective in enhancing training but also post injury recovery eg repair and strengthen muscle tissue that has wasted after being in a cast (ie broken arm)

Aps – Action Potential Simulation

Another source of electrical stimulation is the Aps machine. Aps is a form of nerve stimulation which causes body chemical reactions at a cellular level. The substances released from this reaction have an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and healing effect upon the injured soft tissue. Action Potential is a signal in the nerve cell, allowing better communication. Cells are therefore activated and cellular processes occur, including increased energy. This increased energy is then used by the body to heal tissues and release natural pain killers, remove waste such as inflammation.

The Aps is safe and effective and can be applied to deeper tissues of the body for rapid healing and recovery