Quick Overview

A Canadian pilot study led by Georges Jabbour and a team of researchers tested eight adults with type 2 diabetes during a standard glucose tolerance test. The participants drank 75 grams of glucose, then completed sessions with and without one hour of low-frequency NMES applied to both thighs. Blood samples taken at baseline, 60 minutes and 120 minutes showed significantly lower blood glucose levels during the NMES condition, with a strong relationship between stimulation intensity and changes in glucose.

The research team was affiliated with the University of Moncton, Lakehead University School of Kinesiology, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Published in Diabetes & Metabolism Journal, the study provides credible early evidence that EMS-induced muscle contractions may support glucose uptake. Read the full blog post for the complete methods, results and important limitations.

We always provide direct links to the original research at the end of every article so you can review the evidence yourself.

What Happened When Researchers Used EMS During a Blood Sugar Test?

A small Canadian pilot study produced an encouraging result—and opened the door to an intriguing new area of research

It began early in the morning.

After fasting overnight, eight adults between the ages of 41 and 65 arrived to complete a standard glucose tolerance test.

Each participant drank a solution containing 75 grams of glucose. Their blood glucose was then measured before the drink, after 60 minutes and again after 120 minutes.

But on one of the testing days, the researchers added something different.

For one hour, electrodes placed on the participants’ thigh muscles delivered low-frequency neuromuscular electrical stimulation, or NMES—a form of EMS technology that creates rhythmic muscle contractions.

On the comparison day, the same participants completed the glucose test without electrical stimulation. This allowed the researchers to compare what happened inside the same people under the two different conditions.

The researchers saw a measurable difference

Blood glucose naturally rose after the participants consumed the glucose drink.

However, during the testing session that included NMES, the participants’ blood glucose concentrations were significantly lower than they were during the control session without stimulation.

The difference was seen after 60 minutes. By the 120-minute measurement, the reduction in glucose was also significantly greater following the NMES session than in the control condition.

The researchers also reported a strong relationship between the stimulation intensity and the change in blood glucose during the first hour.

In simple terms, the results suggest that the muscle contractions produced by the stimulation may have influenced how the participants’ bodies used glucose.

That does not mean EMS has been proven to treat diabetes. But it does make the study an encouraging starting point for further investigation into electrically activated muscle contraction and glucose use.

Why contracting muscles may matter

Muscles require energy when they contract.

During physical activity, working muscles draw on available fuel, including glucose. The researchers wanted to explore whether muscle contractions created through NMES might produce part of this metabolic response—even while the person was not performing conventional exercise.

The stimulation was applied to the large knee-extensor muscles at the front of both thighs. It operated at a frequency of 8 Hz for one hour and produced repeated, visible contractions.

The study’s authors proposed that low-frequency stimulation may have activated muscle fibres that use glucose for energy. This could help explain why glucose levels were lower during the NMES condition.

However, this remains a proposed explanation. The study measured changes in blood glucose; it did not directly prove every biological step responsible for the result.

A surprisingly comfortable session

Comfort was another positive part of the study.

Earlier research using higher stimulation frequencies had reported discomfort for some participants. In this study, the researchers deliberately tested a lower frequency.

The participants increased the stimulation to the highest level they could comfortably tolerate. The individual settings ranged from 30 to 60 milliamps.

According to the paper, none of the eight participants reported pain, muscle discomfort or fatigue during the one-hour NMES session.

This is significant because any technology being studied as a possible support for people who find conventional physical activity difficult must also be practical enough for people to tolerate.

This was genuine university-based research

This finding did not come from a social-media post, customer testimonial or unsupported marketing claim.

The research was conducted by scientists affiliated with respected Canadian academic and medical institutions, including:

The University of Moncton

Lakehead University School of Kinesiology

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine

The University of British Columbia Okanagan

The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethical Committee of Lakehead University.
It was published in 2015 in the specialist academic publication Diabetes & Metabolism Journal, associated with the Korean Diabetes Association.

The original paper clearly identifies the researchers, their institutions, the testing method, the electrical settings, the statistical analysis and the limitations of the findings. That transparency allows other scientists and health professionals to examine the work rather than simply taking a headline at face value.

What the study may mean for the future

For people who cannot easily complete traditional exercise because of limited mobility, reduced fitness or other physical barriers, the idea of activating muscles through electrical stimulation is understandably interesting.

This pilot study suggests that low-frequency NMES may influence short-term glucose uptake while the muscles are contracting.

That is the bright and scientifically interesting part of the research.

The study gives researchers a reason to continue investigating whether electrically stimulated muscle activity could eventually play a supporting role alongside established approaches to metabolic health.

It also adds to the broader understanding that EMS technology is not simply about what a person feels on the skin. When the stimulation is strong enough to create a genuine muscle contraction, the working muscle requires energy—and that may produce measurable effects inside the body.

What the study does not prove

The researchers described this as a pilot study, meaning it was an early investigation designed to test an idea and guide larger studies.

Only eight people participated.

The research examined the response to a single one-hour session. It did not test long-term daily use, long-term blood glucose control or changes in HbA1c.

The stimulation was applied specifically to the thigh muscles. It was not a Whole Body EMS study, and the results should not automatically be applied to every EMS device, program or electrode placement.

The participants also continued taking their prescribed glucose-lowering medications during the study.

For these reasons, the research does not establish EMS as a treatment for diabetes, a replacement for exercise or a substitute for medication, dietary guidance or professional medical care. The authors themselves called for further research into the longer-term effects of low-frequency NMES.

The encouraging takeaway

The study’s conclusion was carefully worded but positive.

Under the conditions tested, one hour of low-frequency NMES was associated with lower blood glucose concentrations following a glucose drink compared with the control condition.

The researchers suggested that electrically induced muscle contractions may have helped increase glucose uptake in the participants with type 2 diabetes.

It is an early finding—not a final answer.

But this is how promising areas of science begin: researchers ask a clear question, test it under controlled conditions and report honestly on what they discover.

In this case, what they discovered was encouraging enough to justify more research into the relationship between EMS-induced muscle activity, glucose use and metabolic health.

Research reference

Jabbour G, Belliveau L, Probizanski D, Newhouse I, McAuliffe J, Jakobi J and Johnson M. Effect of Low Frequency Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Glucose Profile of Persons with Type 2 Diabetes: A Pilot Study. Diabetes & Metabolism Journal. 2015;39:264–267. DOI: 10.4093/dmj.2015.39.3.264.

Health information notice

This article reports the findings of an independent pilot study for general educational purposes. It does not claim that EMS technology diagnoses, prevents, manages, treats or cures diabetes or any other medical condition. The study investigated a specific NMES protocol under controlled research conditions and should not be assumed to apply to every commercially available EMS device. People with diabetes or concerns about blood glucose should follow the advice of their qualified healthcare professionals and should not change medication, exercise or dietary plans based on this article.

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Research Summary

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