[Pierreandanne]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I have been in the "club" since 1995 after a botched hang glider landing. I am t8-t9 complete but my neurological level is T6. I have had the normal dose of bowel and bladder problems. Because of high bladder pressure, about two years ago I received a Brindley implant. This is a gizmo that stimulates your bladder to allow you to pee without getting excessive bladder pressure. However in order to do the implant they need to kill the reflex. They do this by performing a nerve affrontation (the cut the nerves). The affrontation has caused my spasm (which was very strong) to disappear.

OK - so now the question. Since losing my spasm, I have noticed that I have lost muscle mass (atrophy) and I am putting on more fat that I can't exercise to get rid of.
Does anybody know if EMS is useful for para/tetraplegics to maintain muscle tone and/or lose weight?
If so, which models are recommended and what is the approx cost etc??
Are there other advantages such as improved circulation, better skin tone etc??

Thanks for your help.....

Pierre

[Gary Anderson]

Do know that EMS can help with muscle tone but have not heard of it helping with losing fat. My para/quad plas tell me that it is very hard to lose weight when you are immobile. Best talk to a doc about your diet and see what adjustments you can make in that area.

[bgarber]

Pierreandanne, on Aug 26 2006, 09:54 PM, said:

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I have been in the "club" since 1995 after a botched hang glider landing. I am t8-t9 complete but my neurological level is T6. I have had the normal dose of bowel and bladder problems. Because of high bladder pressure, about two years ago I received a Brindley implant. This is a gizmo that stimulates your bladder to allow you to pee without getting excessive bladder pressure. However in order to do the implant they need to kill the reflex. They do this by performing a nerve affrontation (the cut the nerves). The affrontation has caused my spasm (which was very strong) to disappear.

OK - so now the question. Since losing my spasm, I have noticed that I have lost muscle mass (atrophy) and I am putting on more fat that I can't exercise to get rid of.
Does anybody know if EMS is useful for para/tetraplegics to maintain muscle tone and/or lose weight?
If so, which models are recommended and what is the approx cost etc??
Are there other advantages such as improved circulation, better skin tone etc??

Thanks for your help.....

Pierre

I am a C6-7 complete and so I can't speak to the effects on a person of your level, but I have been a user of the ERGYS (a EMS exercise bike) for 19 yrs. Yes it absolutely maintains muscle tone and is a wonderful cardio workout as a 30 minute bike ride. It's a vital way to get cardio exercise which is so difficult for us, and while not the single answer to losing weight, when combined w/ dietary changes and some upper body workout (weights, aerobics) will give you good results. For info you can go to www.musclepower.com.
Good luck

[livewriter]

If they did a rhizotomy during the implant fes will not help as there's no return signal to cause muscle contractions. NeuroControl and CaseWestern Univerity was doing research on fes for stomach toning and bowel assistance but they dropped it.

I have a freehand implant for grasp in my right arm and there is a noticable difference in muscle tone.

I have an fes unit in my closet and often wonder if i could use it on my stomach but then I remember back before my implant that the unit helped but very slowly and also caused slight irritations due to heat. You might want to search clinicaltrials.gov for fes. the usually have one or 2 going on somewhere.

Here's fes providing a buzz

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 

[Pierreandanne]

Thanks for your input guys.
I guess that I need to check this out a bit more. I have written to the factory (the local spinal unit) to try to get their opinion, but I won't hold my breath. I guess the best thing is to try some of these and see what I think, and also see if they work after my operation.

Thanks again.