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2. HOW DOES ELECTROSTIMULATION WORK?
Electrostimulation involves stimulating nerve bres by electrical impulses transmitted by electrodes. The electrical impulses
produced by Compex stimulators are high-quality impulses that are safe, comfortable and eective and stimulate various
types of nerve bres:
1. Motor nerves to stimulate a muscular response, referred to as electrical muscle stimulation (EMS).
2. Certain types of sensitive nerve bres to obtain analgesic eects or pain relief.
1. STIMULATION OF MOTOR NERVES (EMS)
With voluntary activity, the brain orders muscles to contract and a command is then sent to nerve bres in the form of
an electrical signal. This signal is then sent to muscle bres, which contract. The principle of electrostimulation accurately
reproduces the process involved in a voluntary contraction. The stimulator sends an electrical impulse to nerve bres to excite
them. This excitation is then transmitted to muscle bres and results in a basic mechanical response (= a twitch). This is the
basic requirement for muscular contraction. The muscular response is to all intents and purposes identical to the muscular
work controlled by the brain. In other words, the muscle does not distinguish between a command sent by the brain or the
stimulator.
Programme settings (number of impulses per second, duration of contraction, rest time, total programme duration)
subject the muscle to various types of work, depending on the muscle bre. Various types of muscle bres can be identied
according to their respective contraction speeds: slow, intermediate and fast bres. A sprinter clearly has more fast bres
and a marathon runner has more slow bres. With good knowledge of human physiology and full control of stimulation
settings of the various programmes, muscular work can be specically pinpointed to achieve the desired objective (muscular
strengthening, increased blood circulation, rming, etc.).
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