A 2002 EMS research study done by Boeckh-Behrens and colleagues at the University of Bayreuth in Germany where a total of 49 people (31 women and 18 men with an average age of 47 years), who were suffering from back pain were studied. The 49 participants performed EMS training sessions over a period of 5 weeks and were assessed before and after the training.

88.7% of the participants showed a decrease in back pain, with 75.5% showing improvements in mood and 69.4% noticing an increased vitality. The researchers concluded that electrical stimulus activates the major muscle groups and also, more importantly, the deeper muscle groups which are difficult to activate through conventional training methods. This helps target pain in muscle groups that are easily reached by unnatural sitting positions but aren’t easy to reach to alleviate and heal.

Tony Marchesini, managing director of H2O International, can attest to how EMS training has helped his back. “After hearing how good the EMS training is to relieve back pain, I decided to give it a try. 20 minutes a week is all it took to take away the nagging back pain that had plagued me for many years,” he explains.  “It did not happen overnight, it took a few months after joining before I experienced relief. It not only decreased my back pain, but I also found that it had a positive effect on my mood. When you are sore, you get grumpy.”

If you suffer from chronic back pain or would like to have better posture and back strength,