Electrostimulation: does training with shocks work or is it just marketing?

In my first column in TecMundo, I commented on 2023 fitness trends. The author of the article that brought the trends explains the differences between fashion and trends, basically an important differentiation consisting of the effect of the phenomenon and the current time. : fashion as an intense but short-lived popular activity; and disposition as an improvement or change in the way people behave.

Fashions may or may not turn into trends. Do you want a sample? CrossFit(R) emerged in the early 2000s and has experienced significant growth as a trend. Other? Many studios in Brazil practice training with whole-body electrostimulation, which promises fast results with intense marketing. But is it really an effective app? Let’s get this straight: Fashions may even be in the rankings, as professionals in the field have pointed out, but they’ll likely be off the list in the coming years.

The fashion for electrostimulation emerged a few years ago, and the most common form of this practice consists of the practitioner wearing a coverall attached to a machine that emits electrical pulses to stimulate muscle activation. The promises are great, as the ads declare that just 20 minutes of training will activate 300 muscles with high caloric expenditure and without the feeling of muscle fatigue that is uncomfortable for many practitioners even if the practitioner does some strength and resistance exercises. muscle while receiving several shocks.

The app will hypothetically meet different goals such as weight loss, toning, reducing (or even finishing) cellulite and producing collagen. “Does it work?” It’s a question I keep getting. Sounds interesting doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t be interested in an app that offers so little effort and so much benefit? There is nothing better than science to verify the true effectiveness of this.

What does science say about electrostimulation?

Despite the limited literature on the subject, the results are not encouraging. A few years ago, when researchers from Spain brought together published studies on electrostimulation (and there were only 21 in total), they concluded: “research is scant and current studies lack the amount of evidence needed to draw firm conclusions about the effectiveness of electrostimulation training”. The researchers noted a lack of randomized controlled trials, which are the best type of study to control cause and effect.

Looking at this area, in the most recently published study, Iranian researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial. They randomly selected 40 overweight women to train in two different ways: on the treadmill only or on the treadmill plus electrostimulation. On the treadmill, everyone did 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week. The difference between the groups was whether they did the strength exercises with electrostimulation overalls. After 6 weeks (short for changes in body), when comparing data such as BMI, fat percentage, waist and hip circumference, the researchers found that both groups had reduced some measurements, but no statistical difference between them, or even shock strength exercises.

Who is electrostimulation indicated for?

Basically, in electrostimulation, there is muscle contraction through shocks, but no command of the central nervous system is needed, but would that work for you? I believe that people with limited mobility, such as patients with neurological injuries, can benefit. On the other hand, if a person can act normally, there is no reason to spend more money on such an unfounded application. For example, traditional strength training exercises are much cheaper and routinely applicable.

The main goals of people when exercising are related to aesthetics, hypertrophy (increase in muscle mass) and weight loss (reduction of body fat), multifactorial and complex processes, beware of those who make money selling simple solutions to complex problems. with baseless allegations.

The fitness industry is very powerful and is creating ways to make sales. Although it may seem like an interesting modality and it’s because of powerful and attractive marketing combined with technology. we do not currently have consistent evidence of effects. While fads come and go, the basics still seem to work well.