Can Electrical Muscle Stimulation Help Unstable Shoulders Move Better Than Exercise Alone? Oxford & European Hospital Study Investigates This

person Savannah Martin
calendar_today Jan 14, 2026
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This blog post is part of the Oriems Fit Research Digest series.

In this series, we share interesting scientific studies in simple language.
We do this to inspire curiosity and help people explore research themselves.

At the end of every post, you will find links to the original studies.
You can read the full paper, download the PDF, and fact-check everything yourself.

If you enjoy learning how science works, this series is for you.

WHO DID THIS RESEARCH AND WHEN?

Who conducted the research?
This study was led by Dr. Philipp Moroder and a large international research team.

Where did the researchers work?
They came from top orthopedic and rehabilitation centers across:

🇨🇭 Switzerland (Schulthess Clinic, Zurich)
🇩🇪 Germany (Charité University Hospital, Berlin and others)
🇫🇷 France
🇬🇧 United Kingdom (University College London Hospital)
🇮🇹 Italy

These are major European hospitals and university research centers.

Who published the study?
The research was published in Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal (PTJ),
an official journal of the American Physical Therapy Association,
published by Oxford University Press.

This is a peer-reviewed and open-access scientific journal.

Who funded the research?
The study was funded by the German Research Foundation,
a public science funding body.
The funder had no role in the results or conclusions.

WHAT IS THIS RESEARCH ABOUT?

What question were researchers asking?

Can neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) combined with physical therapy
help people with functional shoulder instability
move better than physical therapy alone?

This condition often affects teenagers and young adults.
The shoulder feels unstable even though scans show no structural damage.

WHO WAS STUDIED?

49 patients were included
Mostly teenagers and young adults
All had functional posterior shoulder instability
Many had tried regular therapy before with limited success

WHICH METHOD WAS USED?

This was a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

That means:

Patients were randomly assigned to two groups
One group did physical therapy only
One group did physical therapy + motion-triggered NMES
Treatment lasted 6 weeks
Patients were followed for up to 12 months

This is considered high-quality research design.

WHAT WERE THE FINDINGS?

✅ Better Shoulder Function

After 3 months:

NMES + therapy group reached 64% shoulder function
Therapy-only group reached 51%

That is a 13% higher improvement with NMES.

✅ Larger Improvements Over Time

Compared to their starting point:

NMES group improved by 80%
Therapy-only group improved by 16%

✅ Fewer Shoulder Instability Episodes

People using NMES had fewer shoulder slipping events.
This improvement stayed strong at:

3 months
6 months
12 months

The therapy-only group did not show this improvement.

✅ Patients Who Switched to NMES Improved Too

Two-thirds of patients who were unhappy with therapy alone
switched to NMES.

After switching:

Shoulder scores increased from 49% to 67%

✅ Higher Satisfaction

95% of NMES users felt their shoulder improved
Only 63% felt this way with therapy alone

NMES users also reported higher satisfaction scores.

WHAT DO THESE FINDINGS MEAN IN SIMPLE WORDS?

This study suggests something important:

Better movement does not always start with less pain.

NMES helped muscles activate at the right time,
which made the shoulder feel more controlled and stable.

Pain reduction was not dramatic at first,
but movement and confidence improved earlier.

WHY COULD EMS / NMES BE HELPFUL?

Researchers believe NMES may help by:

Activating under-used shoulder muscles
Improving timing of muscle contractions
Supporting brain-muscle communication
Helping the body relearn better movement patterns

This is similar to how electrical stimulation is used
in stroke rehabilitation.

HOW MIGHT THIS HELP EMS USERS?

For people who:

Feel their shoulder is unstable
Have weakness without clear injury
Struggle despite exercise alone

EMS may support:

Better muscle engagement
Improved movement confidence
More consistent shoulder control

STUDY INFORMATION

Original Research Title
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation–Enhanced Physical Therapist Intervention for Functional Posterior Shoulder Instability

Simplified Study Name
Can Electrical Muscle Stimulation Improve Shoulder Stability Better Than Exercise Alone?

Where to Read the Study

Published in Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal (Oxford University Press) — a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Link to original study: https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzad145

SUMMARY TABLE

Category	Details
Study Type	Multicenter randomized controlled trial
Participants	49 young patients with unstable shoulders
Duration	6 weeks treatment, 12 months follow-up
Comparison	Therapy vs Therapy + NMES
Key Result	NMES group improved shoulder function more
Long-Term Effect	Fewer instability episodes
Safety	No serious adverse events reported