Science Behind

INTRODUCTION

It is hard to pinpoint any areas of life which are not affected by fitness. Fitness enables us to live life to its fullest. Its immense influence on quality of life is undeniable. Sometimes events like medical conditions, illnesses, or injuries happen and they affect our ability to move and function. Physical therapy aims at improving these conditions and restoring physical health to its normal.

However, conservative treatment of soft tissue and joint inflammatory conditions are not effective the use of varied techniques and equipment. Normally, in rehabilitation, the course and length of time for healing can be both long and arduous. Most people find it hard stay committed to the prolong treatments. Also, conservative treatments are fixated on treating the symptoms of an injury or ailment instead of the actual causative factors. Recurring nature of sports injuries indicate that treatments are not able to get to the root of the problem. Injuries happen due to inability of muscles to absorb the force that enters body. Physical therapy treatments must address the underlying cause of the problem to ensure its effectiveness. Alternative approaches must be added to conservative treatment like electrotherapy.

ELECTRICAL MUSCLE STIMULATION

Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) is a therapeutic modality that is comprised of many different types of devices with a multitude of currents, waveforms, frequencies, amplitudes, durations and pulse rates. It is used in healthy individuals and athletes as a strength training tool; in hospitals and clinics for rehabilitation of patients with partially or significantly denervated muscles; it is also used as an injury prevention and post-exercise recovery tool for athletes. Nevertheless, current EMS techniques merely allow early introduction of other long-term recovery techniques such as exercise prescription. They are unsuccessful in finding the root cause of the problem and providing an effective cure. An important reason for this failure has been the ignorance of the fact that the nervous system plays an important role in restoring and co-ordinating the functions of muscles.

CONVENTIONAL EMS: SHORTCOMINGS

Symptomatic relief
Unable to locate the source of problem
Long treatment duration
Recurrence

WHAT IS X-TRAINER?

The development of X-trainer was based on the scientific evidence that most of the research documenting positive effects of electrotherapy with tissue and bone healing was done with direct current. The technology for X-trainer was designed to apply the unique cellular effects of direct current to clinical use and strength training and simultaneously overcome the side-effects associated with the use of direct current.

X-Trainer uses a novel waveform which utilises a high frequency, periodic exponential background alternating current over a controllable periodic exponential main direct current. This unique combination of AC and DC currents helps to eliminate pain and irritation at the electrode sites, commonly caused by direct current by reducing the skin and fatty tissue impedance, allowing smooth and deeper penetration of the direct current. This combination current is then utilized for producing healing effects and retraining the neuromuscular system.

Fig 1 – Outline of X-Trainer waveform. It is combination of two waveforms – a high frequency, periodic exponential background alternating current pulse which helps to eliminated pain and irritation at electrode location and a selectable periodic exponential main direct current pulse.

SCIENCE BEHIND X-TRAINER

The human body is a biologically closed electrical system. Whenever an injury occurs, an electrical charge is formed in the injured region. At injured sites, communication gets disrupted between cells embedded in charged collagen, preventing the reduction of inflammation and edema, and causing formation of scar tissue. Direct current helps to dissipate this charge and promote healing.

Furthermore, the X-trainer waveform is like the action potential produced in the nerve and muscle of the human body.

Fig 2 – Plot of a typical human membrane action potential vs plot of X-trainer waveform

Thus, this unique waveform produces minimal inhibitory protective muscle contractions allowing active range of motion during therapy and training. This permits eccentric (lengthening) contractions to occur which are critical to treatment. It keeps muscles relaxed and, therefore, they can absorb a much greater amount of force, which significantly increases the ability to prevent injury.

The unique nature of this waveform generates a combination of sensory and motor signals, more sensory as compared to motor impulses are transmitted. The ability to preferentially send afferent sensory signals is extremely important for re-educating and strengthening muscles. Additionally, conventional waveforms elicit a stress response by indulging the muscles in a constant cycle of concentric contractions. This activates the sympathetic nervous system of the patient, which in turn inhibits the processes of healing. In contrast, X-trainer is capable of eccentric contractions which cause relaxation of muscles, thus promoting parasympathetic nervous tone. Parasympathetic activation is important for activating the healing processes of the body and thus play a key role in muscle re-education and enervation of denervated or immobilized muscles. It also benefits strength training by promoting relaxation of muscles which in turn permits the body to activate more muscle mass and thus display greater strength.

It is evident that X-trainer waveform has definite advantages over conventional EMS waveforms. Some comparisons are as follows:

CONVENTIONAL EMS	X-TRAINER
AC current	DC current
Polyphasic sinusoidal waveform.	High frequency AC superimposed on low frequency main DC current/ Faradic superimposed on Galvanic waveform

Current goes back and forth, so muscles just tighten up (concentric contractions)	Current goes in only one direction and harmonizes with body’s electric system
Only concentric contractions	Concentric and Eccentric Contractions
Muscle Relaxation Occurs only after tetanic muscle contraction.	Muscles Lengthen by eccentric contraction

Strengthens muscles by causing high level electrically evoked muscle contraction (Contraction stronger than voluntary contraction evokes muscle fibres asynchronously, whereas electrical contraction evokes muscle contraction synchronously)

Strengthens muscles more than any other EMS by evoking both concentric and eccentric contractions intermittently, giving muscles time to ACTIVELY RELAX/LENGTHEN (active relaxation rejuvenates muscles and also allows a high amount of blood flow activating protein synthesis and increasing muscle mass

Science Behind

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