Electrical Muscle Stimulation Newport Beach
What we use it for
- Muscle locked in protective spasm
- Backs too painful to examine comfortably
- Preparing an area before adjusting
- The acute phase, not the long-term plan
Small adhesive pads are placed on the skin either side of the area being treated, and a controlled current is passed between them. It is one of the older tools in the room and it is still here because it is genuinely useful for a specific job.
What Electrical Muscle Stimulation Newport Beach feels like
A tingling that builds to a pulling or gripping sensation as the muscle contracts and releases in time with the current. We set the intensity with you rather than to a fixed number — it should be firm and definitely not painful, and you can ask for it to come down at any point.
Electrical Muscle Stimulation Newport Beach patients receive typically runs ten to fifteen minutes while you lie still, often before an adjustment rather than after.
Why we use it
Two reasons. A muscle in protective spasm will pull a joint straight back into the position you are trying to move it out of, and cycling it through contraction and release helps break that pattern. Second, the current appears to interfere with pain signalling from the area, which for an acutely painful back can be the difference between tolerating an examination and not.
Where it fits
Mostly in the acute phase, and mostly as preparation. Once the spasm has settled and the joint is moving, we stop using it — it is a way in, not a long-term plan.
Practical points
Nothing to feel afterwards and no restrictions. It is not used over a pacemaker or other implanted electronic device, during pregnancy, or over broken skin, and we check for all of those first.