Electro-stimulation is applied in various cases of muscle-bone damages e.g. following the immobilization of fractured bones or neurological injuries such as stroke and paresis of the facial muscle.
It is applied in case of a paralyzed condition following a stroke, trauma or tumor. It can prevent muscular atrophy and strengthen the already affected muscles.
Electro-stimulation is nowadays an inseparable part of physical therapy. The principle is very simple: it accurately imitates the processes going on when our brain is sending the muscles the command to contract. Namely, when we decide to move a muscle, the brain sends an electric signal that travels along nervous fibers to the muscles that react with a contraction.
In case of electro-stimulation the electric signal comes from a device instead of the brain, but the muscular reaction is the same. The muscles do not recognize the difference between a willful reaction stimulated by the brain and an electrically stimulated contraction; they react in exactly the same way.
The electric current is controlled in order to make the therapy efficient, safe and comfortable. The therapy lasts as long as it is necessary to provoke an active movement and until the muscle is sufficiently strong to enable the continuation of the healing process by kinesiotherapy; in Kaliper polyclinic we often combine the two therapies.
In electro-stimulation the cooperation and motivation of the patient are essential. They will emerge when the patient realizes that he/she can perform a movement which was impossible by willful action.
Electro-stimulation is applied in case of:
- muscle- bone damages
- immobilization following fracture
- neurological damages
- paresis of the facial nerve
- stroke
- muscular atrophy
- hemiphlegia in adults