You know the kind… it looks like something you’d see in the Doctors office. It has a bunch of pads that are connected to the main unit via a couple of wires. You put these pads on the skin over the “muscle” you want to “work out” and it sends electric pulses causing the muscle to contract. You can buy them in most large drug/health stores for $100 an up.
Are they any good? Any risks?
Here is the reason that I am asking. My wife hurt her back several months ago and has not been able to work out for a loooong time. She has not gained any weight at all (she is not fat by any means) but her muscle tone is suffering. I was wondering if this might be a good substitute until her back gets into working order. As it is right now, almost any exercise causes pain in her lower back.
BTW - She is 25, otherwise in Excellent health and going to physio… and about to see a chiropractor.
I just wanted to say that everytime I see the commercials for this thing it looks so painful… I can’t watch. It looks horrible! Granted the people don’t seem to mind, but I can’t imagine what this is doing to you! Toning ain’t that important if you ask me!
Her MD actually recomended the chiro as she has kind of reached a plateau with physio and he doesn’t know what else to do (???). Its been 7 months and she still can’t touch her toes or risk lifting anything over about 5lbs. Her Dr is stumped as she was x-rayed and cannot see any apparent damage but knows there is obviously something wrong. The Physio has helped, but as mentioned she is kind of at the point that she is no longer “improving” and has been at that level for the past couple of months. I know Chiropractors are kind of “borderline” medicine in some circles but she/we don’t really know what else to do. We have heard some good things about them though… an employee of mine had a really bad back and the Chiropractor helped him out a lot.
The “electrode machine” or whatever the hell its called is my own idea. I have heard of mixed opinions on those and would like to know what fellow dopers think.
As a collegiate athelete whose body was frequently under the weather, I’ve had a lot of experience with the “electrode machines”. In the training room, we called them “e-stim” machines, for electric stimulation.
Anyway, the trainers said that they were basically useless for the kind of thing you’re talking about, gaining or maintaining muscle tone. Apparently the Russians used to do this to a limited extent, and hence there is a pattern on the big machines called “Russian stim,” which hurts like hell. Not recommended.
What they do do is act as a deep muscle massage and, for me, since I had back spasms, it got the little muscles working and loose after a run, so they wouldn’t spasm later.
Anyway, if you can smile while you’re doing it, it won’t make you toner. But it does feel absolutely great on your lower back after a hard run. It’s like heaven with an icepack. Or with a heating pack. I miss it the most, not having a training room…
I don’t know about those electronic machines, though by firing off the muscle they are forcing it to burn calories and work, so logically, it seems that it should work to a degree, but I do not know.
As for Chiropractors. MDs and Chiropractors have begun to come to a meeting of the minds in that Chiropractors actual can benefit a patient much because they know much more about the manipulation of the bones. Just so long as they do not try to convince patients that they can cure all by bone manipulation, deep heat treatments or message. Like, for some neck spine ills, the treatments doctors used to use was traction for hours at a time, which is annoying and uncomfortable to the patient. Then they discovered they could send the patient to a chiropractor and he would crack the bones and do more good for the spine than weeks in traction within an hour.
Doctors are sending arthritis patients to chiropractors, along with patients with certain forms of back problems. Many elderly people which chronic joint disease benefit considerably from a weekly, hour long session of cracking, popping and repositioning of the bones. In some cases, a slipped disc, which could require days of traction in bed, can be popped back in place by a chiropractor working the bones and ligaments of the spine.
So, there are actual benefits to chiropractors and doctors are beginning to use them more. Just find a good one, who knows that he cannot cure all ills by cracking the joints.
My dad and I have seen the commercials for these things (starting with the Amazing Cosmetic Facial Wrinkle-Remover) and the first thing we thought of was “Didn’t these go out with the Victorian Age?” My dad was collecting old medical equipment for a while, and he had a couple of Electro-belts and Dyno-girdles that dated from at least 1890-something.
Honestly…I mean, I’m lazy and fat and all, but at least I don’t try to pretend that getting an electrical jolt is the equivalent of exercise. I watch the muscles twitching on these commercials and think “isn’t this something that most people want to avoid having happen to them?” This is, after all, the reason that power cords have insulation, right?
In other words, bernse, in the opinion of a non-medical non-professional, it’s steaming bovine excrement. With a cherry on top.
shudders the infomercial for that thing -scares- me! LOL It just looks -too- weird, seeing the muscles twitch and jump like that! In fact, I emailed the consumer reporter on my local NBC station, who does “Does it Really do that?” type reports, but she hasn’t tested the electrode stimulator thing yet! IMO, it probably does not work, sorry!
Now about chiropractic… many HMOs are now doing referrals for “alternative” medicine, like chiropractic, acupuncture, etc. I’ve had a bit of spinal manipulation myself, but couldn’t really feel any difference. However, it was just once, and I didn’t have any specific complaint. I do know many people who have been helped by it though, so it couldn’t hurt to check it out, imo.
J248974, I’m in pain just reading about all that ‘disc-popping’ and
‘bone-manipulating.’
As one with a bad back, who has actually never gone to a doctor or chiro about it, I know that it is a very inconvienient spot ot be hurt. I recommened whatever course of action makes it feel better.
(Sheesh, only 18 years old and I have a bad back, I’m pathetic. :rolleyes:
Hey! Whatever happened to our truth in advertising laws. Don’t they require that a product advertised has to do something in the area which it advertises?
I mean, those many exercise machines advertised at 2 am on boring infomercials had attached to them, usually mentioned in tiny letters or an illegible verbal ‘blurb’ that you needed to follow the suggested diet as you used them. THEN, the things worked.
Things like the magnetic whatevers were magnetic, but that was about all, depending upon your belief of magnetism as a healing energy. The same with those copper thingies like wrist bands. (fakefakefakefake)
Now, these electronic shockers actually trigger muscle response, which means the muscle is firing, which means it is consuming glucose from the blood stream, which indicates it is exercising. So, would that not then produce the normal flow of fatigue chemicals in the body, increase the metabolism and more or less burn off calories as you ‘rest’? Any muscle working is burning energy and energy comes from calories.
I think I would find that more believable than those ‘bigger breast’ pills.
Truth in advertising laws made companies put their ingredients on food cans and over the counter medications and vitamins.
