I've been a quad for thirty-one years & I have been finding in the last couple of years that my body is getting smaller. I am gettting thinner & thinner & so the doctors did a ton of tests on me but could not find anything wrong. All the doctors came to the same conclusion that I am simply aging & that is why I am getting thinner. My muscles wasted away so much that my butt is just skin & bones & I can only sit up 2 to hours at a time. Today I saw a commercial Ad for an electronic muscle stimulator, to get your body built up. I was wondering if any of you have tried this muscle stimulator.

I think I know the commercial that you're talking about. And the one they're selling I doubt is as powerful as say a TENS unit (Transdurmal Electrical Neuro Stimulus). The old saying "if it's too good to be true than it probably is" applies here. PT do use TENS units & electro stimulus to make muscles tighten up/work but that is not going to cure atrophy they use that more like for someone who had knee surgery to work the muscles while keeping the knee from moving. So no don't waste your money on that commercial. I don't think that a TENS unit would build muscle back up but I could be wrong on that one. Sorry about the shrinking & that it is making it so you can't stay in a sitting position. 2 questions; #1 do you have a good cushion, #2 what about a tilt system if you use a power chair?

A TENS unit is mainly used for pain relief. An EMS unit is used for muscle stimulation. They function similarly, but the electrical stimulation is on different frequencies, TENS for nerves, EMS for muscles.
The Russians did quite a bit of research on EMS use for athletes to build muscle passively, but they found it had limited use and effectiveness. Beyond a certain point, there was no real benefit. It does help with speeding up and aiding healing of sports injuries. The micro muscle contractions help with circulation and preventing muscle atrophy to a degree. They also help with bone injuries.
I guess for us SCIs there are no short-cuts.

Hi Rudy,

I am no expert on these things. However, most people are having trouble keeping weight off. Eating more calories than you burn will inevitably result in energy being stored as fat.

I realize that fat is not muscle, and excess fat has its own problems. But you seem a long way from excess. More fat tissue would help with the pressure issues.

Perhaps you could simply eat more calories and see what happens. Add in a milkshake or two.

Best Regards,

Gordon