COMPEXWireless Electrostimulation

Content

▪ Compex – The Company▪ Theory and Principles of

Electrostimulation (EMS)▪ Compex System▪ Notable Athlete

Ambassadors▪ Clinical Studies▪ Conclusions

Compex – The Company

▪ A Swiss Based Company founded in the 1980’s

▪ Developed a niche for electrotherapy products ▪ Health ▪ Clinical treatments of Orthopedic

and/or Neurology ▪ Rehabilitation

▪ Training▪ Part of DJO Global, Inc.▪ Global provider of high-quality,

orthopedic devices▪ Products used for rehabilitation, pain

management and physical therapy.

Theory and Principles of Electrostimulation (EMS)▪ EMS is the application of electric

current to stimulate bone or muscle tissue for therapeutic purposes, such as facilitation of muscle activation and muscle strengthening (Mosby, 2009)

▪ The impulses are generated by a device and delivered through electrodes on the skin in direct proximity to the muscles to be stimulated.

▪ The impulses mimic the action potential coming from the central nervous system, causing the muscles to contract.

Theory and Principles of Electrostimulation (EMS)

Nerve pathway from brain to

muscle

A muscle can’t tell the difference between a voluntary contraction triggered by the brain or through a muscle stimulator. Excitatio

n occurs directly on the motor nerve

Workout without cardiovascular fatigue

Workout without stressing joints

Theory and Principles of Electrostimulation (EMS)▪ The electrical impulses can also

excite the sensory nerve fibres to obtain an analgesic or pain relieving effect.

▪ The stimulation of the tactile sensory nerve fibres blocks the transmission of pain by the nervous system.

▪ The stimulation of another type of sensory fibres creates an increase in the production of endorphins and, therefore, a reduction in pain.

▪ With pain relief programmes, electrostimulation can be used to treat localised acute or chronic pain as well as muscle pain.

Compex System

COMPEX

SYSTEM

Training

Preventing Injury

Recovery

Treating Pain

Compex System – Wireless Features

Eliminates messy wiresFreedom of movement

Wireless

Electrode placement is shown directly on full-color LCD remote screen

Color LCD

Personal coaching programme helps individuals choose the right workout for his/her specific needs

Online Programme

Installed on each of the four modules, with pulse adapted to each muscle physiology

mi-Technology

Notable Athlete Ambassadors

Mark Cavendish• Professional Cyclist

Chris McCormack• Professional Triathlete

Kilian Jornet• Professional Endurance Athlete and Ski Mountaineer

Sebastian Chaigneau• Professional Trail Runner

Clinical Studies - #1 - Soccer

In a French study by Billot, Martin, Paizis, Cometti & Babault (2010)Compex was used to investigate the effect

of a 5-week electrostimulation

(EMS) training program.

Focus on muscular strength (Quadriceps), kicking velocity, sprint,

and vertical jump performance in soccer

players.

20 male soccer players were

randomly divided into two training

groupsEMS group received

EMS on the quadriceps muscles during 5

weeks (3 sessions of 12 minutes per week) and soccer training.

Control group only had soccer training.

The athletes were tested after 3 and 5 weeks training

Significant improvements in

Quadriceps muscle strength as well as in

ball speed performance.

Improvements were not seen in the control

group.

Clinical Studies - #2 - Swimming

In a Californian study by Neric, Beam, Brown, & Wiersma (2009)

Aimed to evaluate the effect of active recovery

with electrical stimulation versus

submaximal swimming recovery and passive

resting recovery.

Subjects were swimmers from high school and

collegiate swim teams who trained on a year

round basis.

Testing

EMS was applied to primarily the to the

muscles in the region of the anterior thighs and

lower back.

Blood lactate levels were tested before and

immediately after a 200yrd swimming sprint, as well as after 10 min (‘mid-recovery’) and 20 min (‘post-recovery’).

Results of both groups reveal

Blood lactate levels were most decreased with the submaximal swimming recovery

method.

EMS recovery also produced significantly

better lactate reduction compared to resting

recovery.

Clinical Studies - Effectiveness

▪ Study #1 - Improved strength and performance in healthy individuals and athletes▪ It can also infuse variability into

the training program, which might enhance the motivation of some players.

▪ Recommended use for injured athletes to attenuate or eliminate detraining effects.

▪ Study #2 - Enhanced muscle recovery▪ Using EMS to reduce muscle

and blood lactate when athlete has limited access to other active recovery modalities (e.g. pool, stationary bike or opportunities to run or walk)

▪ Using EMS to produce muscle contractions while otherwise resting may be of benefit in helping reduce muscle and blood lactate before subsequent performance.

Conclusions

▪ EMS is intended to complement a workout routine, not replace it. ▪ Just as vitamins are intended to

supplement a good diet▪ Compex Systems work in conjunction with

a traditional training regiment to help competitive athletes achieve the highest level of performance possible.

▪ EMS is a very effective way to make muscles work: ▪ With significant improvement in different

muscular qualities▪ Without cardiovascular or mental fatigue ▪ With limited stress placed on the joints and

tendons. ▪ EMS allows a greater quantity of work

to be done by the muscles compared with voluntary activity.

References

▪ electrostimulation. (n.d.) Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. (2009). Retrieved February 18 2013 from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/electrostimulation

▪ Billot, M., Martin, A., Paizis, C., Cometti, C., & Babault, N. (2010). Effects of an electrostimulation training program on strength, jumping, and kicking capacities in soccer players. J Strength Cond Res, 24(5), 1407-1413. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181d43790

▪ Neric, F. B., Beam, W. C., Brown, L. E., & Wiersma, L. D. (2009). Comparison of swim recovery and muscle stimulation on lactate removal after sprint swimming. J Strength Cond Res, 23(9), 2560-2567. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181bc1b7a