HEALTH & FITNESS

What is Electronic Muscle Stimulation (Stim) and Should I be Using It?!

What is Electronic Muscle Stimulation (Stim) and Should I be Using It?!

The good ol' Stim & Ice

If you are an athlete and have had some kind of muscle stain or pull then you have probably used stim & ice.  I was first introduce to stim & ice when I was playing college football.  I showed up on campus after having this nagging injury in High School that wouldn't go away.   The trainers put me on the table, slapped on some of these pads (like the ones in the picture below), connected the cords to this big machine and turned it on.

My muscles started to fire in a rhythmic pattern without my control and I wasn't exactly sure if this was going to help or not.  To my surprise this nagging injury, that bothered me my entire senior year of high school, was gone after a week of stim & ice.  

SLAP Tear Surgery and Recovery: E-Stim...The Pleasure At The End ...

As my career went on, this became standard practice for any muscle strains, tears or pulls.  But when my career was over, and I strained a muscle while working out or shooting some hoops, I didn't have the ability to get stim & ice anymore. 

So what exactly is Electronic Muscle Stimulation? 

EMS uses electrical impulses to cause the contraction of targeted muscle groups. The impulses are generated by a device and are delivered through electrodes on the skin near to the muscles being stimulated. The electrodes are generally pads that adhere to the skin. The impulses mimic the action potential  that comes from the central nervous system, causing the muscles to contract.  

My Solution: PowerDot

Powerdot

I was recently introduced to PowerDot, which is what I would consider an all-in-one muscle stimulation solution, with over 15 programs plus what they call Smart Recommendations. PowerDot takes data from apps like Strava and provides therapy recommendations to help you recover faster from workouts and be ready to perform better.

The mobile app is what sets PowerDot apart. That’s right, it is designed around a mobile app that acts as a controller for your device. This allows the programs, design, and features to be updated over time based on customer feedback. It’s like getting a new product every couple months, all at no additional cost. This design also makes PowerDot extremely portable and convenient. The actual pod that you place on your skin, which is extremely powerful, is only about 60mm and weighs in at under 25g (extremely small and light compared to the machines I used to get hooked up to back in my college days!)

The other thing I really love is the amount of education you get right within the app. You are able to select the body part you want to focus on, the program that best suits your needs, and you are then prompted with pad placement guides as well as additional tips on use. No need for user manuals, or searching the internet to figure out how to use it.

To no surprise, PowerDot is being used by professional athletes around the globe. NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, athletes as well as Tour de France cyclists and CrossFit athletes are all using this technology.

Are you a Cyclist?!  Then check out the PowerDot Grand Tour

Participants who complete at least 100 miles in the month will be entered into a random drawing for a product package from PowerDot, Whoop, AMP Human, KYOKU, and Stay Classy Meats. Athletes willing to push themselves over 750 miles in July will qualify for a Grand Prize drawing of $6,000 plus the product package. Two runners up will also receive $2,000 each plus the product package. These huge prizes make this one of the largest and most unique Strava challenges ever, and is sure to bring in a large number of cyclists from around the world.  Learn more Here.

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