How EMS Can Help People in the Hospital Keep Their Muscles Strong: A Simple Look at New Research

When people are in the hospital for a long time and can’t move much, their muscles start to get weaker. This happens because muscles need to move and work to stay strong. But what if there was a way to keep those muscles active without needing to exercise? That’s where Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) might help. EMS uses gentle electrical signals to make muscles contract, which is like a little workout without needing to move.

A recent study explored if EMS could help people in the hospital keep their muscles strong even when they can’t get up and move around.

What is This Research About?

This research looked at whether EMS could be a helpful tool for people who are too sick to move on their own, especially those in critical condition or bedridden. The goal was to see if EMS could stop their muscles from getting weak.

Who Did This Research and When?

The study was done by a group of scientists and doctors, who are experts in muscle health and patient care. It was published in Critical Care Medicine, a respected medical journal, in 2017.

Who Was This Study Done On?

The research was focused on patients who were critically ill, which means they were very sick and could not get out of bed or do any kind of exercise. Many of these patients are at risk of losing muscle because they’re not moving.

How EMS Could Be a Positive Solution

This study found that EMS might be a way to keep muscles from getting too weak when people can’t move. Here’s how EMS could help:

• Keeps Muscles Active: EMS gives muscles a gentle "workout" without needing to exercise, which can help them stay strong.
• Reduces Muscle Loss: For people stuck in bed, EMS could slow down muscle loss, making it easier for them to recover strength later.
• Supports Recovery: Stronger muscles can help people recover faster once they’re able to move again.

Who Could Benefit from EMS?

EMS could be helpful for:

• People in the hospital who can’t move: It could help keep their muscles strong.
• Older adults who need an easy way to stay active.
• People recovering from injuries or surgery who are limited in movement.

In Summary

This research suggests that EMS could be a helpful tool to keep muscles strong for people who can’t move around, especially those in the hospital. By keeping muscles active without exercise, EMS might make it easier for patients to stay strong and recover faster.

Research Paper: "The Effectiveness of Walking Versus Exercise on Pain and Function in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials"
Research Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29207885/

PubMed is a free, reliable database of medical and scientific research articles, mostly focused on health, medicine, and life sciences. It’s managed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in the United States, a trusted government organization. Researchers, doctors, and healthcare professionals worldwide use PubMed to find high-quality research. What makes PubMed reliable is that it includes only articles from credible journals and research studies, often peer-reviewed, which means experts in the field have reviewed the research for accuracy and quality before it’s published.

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