How to Use a TENS / EMS Muscle Stimulator To Fix Piriformis Muscle Syndrome
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- The pain due to the piriformis muscle is felt in the butt, the pelvis and the hip. It can even cause sciatica! This pain is often so long lasting that you need external help to resolve it.
Here is an effective EMS program that I have developed with my patients, using the Beurer EM49. However, other patients have had good results with other TENS / EMS machines, such as Bluetens.
You should not feel pain, just the sensation that the muscle contracts and relaxes. Therefore, use a low signal intensity.
More videos on the piriformis muscle:
- understanding piriformis pain: • Piriformis Syndrome: W...
- sitting posture correction: • Sciatica Pain When Sit...
- standing posture correction: • Sciatica Pain Relief: ...
- how to stretch a painful piriformis muscle: • How To Stretch The Pir...
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oliviergirard....
OMG. THE PAIN, ITS ALMOST 100% GONE AFTER ONLY ONE SESSION OF 30 MINUTES !!!!!
well done!!!!
I’ll try anything! My left piriformis muscle has been bothering me for 3 weeks- radiating pain down my leg towards my outer left ankle. I wake up in pain everyday. Thank you for sharing this! ❤
My right pm has been inflamed for over a month.. never experienced this before, I feel trapped in the pain
wow, this is amazing: one initial session per side (with just a cheap TENS on approximate but not analogous settings) and miraculously the ceaseless and deeply upsetting nerve pain across my derriere, upper thighs and lower back (which flares up upon prolonged contact with any surface whilst bearing body weight) has dropped by several levels, and even now on the following day takes significantly longer periods of sitting (tens of minutes vs 1-2 mins prior) to trigger to a high intensity. the onset of this piriformis syndrome, combined with the various other longer-term comorbidities, altogether had reduced quality of life to increasingly sub-zero levels, but this video has literally restored tangible reasons to keep on keeping on, so *major* gratitude to you indeed. now, though, the real work can begin - restoring lost musculature, and the prevention of any further immobility-related conditions
youre very positive thank u!
thank you for the great feedback, dear!!
Thank you 🙏 Piriformis Syndrome, using Belifu SM9126 at Mode 1 variant 2, for 30 min. Near identical to your prescribed settings. Very grateful for your coaching 👍
You're very welcome, Sir!!
I just tried this. I will do it every day and let u know how it works for me. I had piriformis with severe sciatica now for almost 3 months and just bought a TENS unit 1 week ago. Thanks for the video and settings. M
Did this work for you. Have u you notice improvement?
@@kimbell6761 im not shure if it helped or combined with all the other things i done,but it shure feels amazing. I am finally better now last 3 days after 4 months with severe sciatica, i have only pain left in my pelvis and glute. I also been walking alot when i was able, and doing waighttraining ,im pretty stubborn and want to fix everything myself. I have m.r.i 1.oct so i will know then what causes my pain. I believe its something to do with my pelvis,or. S.i joint that again messed up my muscles in my glutes and gave me scistica. I have had many herniated discs but this is and was real different as it came gradually worse with time. I will say it started in late march. How are you doing? ❤
I’m really glad you feel better 😊!!!
@@maylissbjerke9204 That's interesting. I have a similar situation with a history of damaged discs. Either the damaged discs messed up my butt musculature or it's the opposite and my damaged butt is causing my back and si joint pain plus the sciatica. I'll try this EMS technique as long as it doesn't interfere with the chiropractic ART sessions I have coming soon.
i know its a long while but was wondering if the tens machine helped you? as im suffering from severe piriformis pain sciatic pain and just recieved the tens combo ems unit and i cant walk
Just tried this, let me also stress the importance of starting slowly. I just kicked my own butt 😢 but I’m not a quitter. Trying again tomorrow.
Did you now manage to find the right setting, Michelle?
@@OlivierGirard it helped make the pain more diffuse. Is that the results? I am happy so far
How many times a week do you do this?
Hello Olivier,
Thank you for your video.
I have just get a Bluetens to try to manage my Piriformis Syndrome.
Could you tell me what would be the program witch would be the closest to your recommendation.
Many thanks in advance.
Hi Olivier, I have the machine Avon that have ' tens '. I use 4 levels only.. but I am not sure that this machine can stop automatically. for the second round .. and the mesure you give do not appear in the tens machine.. can you pls help with an other alternative like : turn on 3 second and off 3 seconds per example or use 4 lines or 3 lines ..this is what appears in the tens machine not frequencies ..thanks for clarifying this
Thank you!
Hi there. Useful video. When using the EMS for 30 minutes, should I lay down on front or back, sit or stand? Thanks. On intensity, I’m using level 18 which I can feel the contractions but only slightly. What levels do others use?
Hey... just live your normal life when using the EMS :)
Reg. the intensity: bear in mind that it's highly individual. It depends on the connectivity of your tissues, on where you place them (half an inch can change everything) and on how worn off the electrodes are. So really, don't focus on the numbers ;)
awesome video
Hi Oliver, can you please tell me how often you would recommend doing this? I can imagine the answer is likely individual depending on the person, however any rough guidelines would be appreciated!😊
RUclips suggested: depends, as an auto reply. That's fairly correct. Seriously now: recently, I have kept my EMS for 1-2hrs in a row (with some breaks in-between sessions) because I felt something wasn't right. So duration can be fairly high.
Frequency is a good one. My usual guideline is the following: when something goes wrong, you need to react within 15 min, and every 2hrs. It can be with electrostimulation or anything else, but every 2hrs is a good reference. No science behind, just practice on the field.
@@OlivierGirard Hahah it is one of those questions that’s so individual😂 I had worried me doing it every few days could possibly be overdoing it so it’s reassuring to hear that I can utilise it a lot more than that! Thank you!
Hi Olivier, could you recommend a programme from the Bluetens? Thanks a lot
Hey dear... unfortunately I have never had this device so I can't. From what I understand it's a rather "guided" system so you don't take much risk doing trial and error...
Do you have a recommendation impulse intensity level. (Left and right) for the EM 49?
There's no such recommendation: the intensity will depend on the placement of the electrodes and their age, on your skin, on how tense you are... so really, the only rule is: DON'T CAUSE YOURSELF PAIN. Feel something, but that something shouldn't be called pain.
Hi I would like to try this. I can set my TENS/EMS machine to 2Hz and 250micro secs. What should I set the intensity to? AlsoI can't make it on for 4s and off for 2 , it is more like on for 6 and off for 6s. Will this be ok do you think. Thanks so much for the video.
Hey Sally!! The most important parameters are 2Hz and 250 micro secs. My own program does not have an on time and off time: it just goes on all the time. So no worries, go with what you can. The intensity is indeed crucial: you need to feel something, but that something should NEVER be called pain. It's called contraction, reaction, mobilization, whatever you want: but don't let the program cause you any kind of discomfort. My mentor always says: a bit too little is better than a bit too much :)
I bought a device and in ems mode the lowest Hz value is 20, in tens mode there is 2hz, but in ems mode it starts from 20. Do you have any suggestions?
Not really... apart from tying. The fact that I have designed a program that works well does not mean that all other programs are useless :) Just make sure that you set the intensity low enough to not feel pain
@@OlivierGirardthank you this definitely works.
Thanks 😊 🫂 🙏
Could you clarify the polarity of electrode placement? On your video you show top red, bottom green. My électrodes on my new Beurer are red and grey. Which ones go where?
Don't worry about the polarity: just consider the channels, and place the electrodes along the muscle fiber. The 2 red ones are the same, the 2 grey ones are the same :)
Thanks for the Video. I Set up our device on 2 Hz and 250 Micro Seconds.
I use 20 mA to feel and See the muscle contracting.
But i Wonder there is a Phase With 8 contractions and than a Pause after it. Ist this normal? I thought it should be continously.
@KleinesGespenst it depends on your device and the program you use. If you use the Beurer EM49, make sure you are on program 33…
How can the EMS help the piriformis when the piriformis is so deep from the surface?
It's a great question. I guess there are 2 potential answers:
- the more you spread the electrodes, the deeper the signal goes
- when you mobilize the upper layer (gluteus), friction mobilizes the under layer (piriformis).
I guess there's a bit of the 2...
Thanks Oliver. Makes sense…and as long as it helps I guess it really doesn’t matter 😊. Thanks for the answer!
It worked really well, but about 30 mins after the end of the treatment, I could feel my piriformis triggering and hurting again.
I had been mostly sitting plus a little walking around the house. I would love to know why this re-occurs. I suspect it might be somehow connected to knee instability on the same side and also that I sit a lot of the time.
Any advice would be interesting please.
Good afternoon, I’m hoping this could be the video I’ve been looking for, I’m a runner and my pirifomis has been playing up for several months now, and now I’ve seen your video, I went and bought the EM59 because it had the heat option, but I can’t seem to find where I add the 4 secs on and the 2 secs off, I’ve managed to change the frequency and intensity, any more help would be greatly appreciated thank you.
I’ve got it going, but what setting do I set channel 1 and channel 2 too?
Hello!! Don't worry about the time on and off. You have it on program 34 EMS, but not on program 33. Honestly, nowadays I use 33 with a continuous signal for 30 min. No time on, no time off.
Also, make sure that your toes point forward when you run. If they point outwards, you'll have a continuous shortening of the piriformis, which, in combination with the shocks on the pavement, isn't healthy at all.
Let me know if you feel better afterwards!
@@OlivierGirard thank you very much, that brilliant, thanks for the advice, also could I ask would this machine be any good for treating golfers/tennis elbow? Or would buying the Beurer em 29 knee and elbow sleeve work better?
@@csealby I have no experience with em29... but intuitively, I would say that I prefer first buying things that are multi-functional (because they serve more than one purpose). Especially as with things like sleeves, there's potentially a size issue. I have patients that use EM49 for these regions. The only thing is that you may have to shave if you want to preserve the lifespan of your electrodes ;)
on 4s
off 2s
freq 2Hz
impulse duration 250 microsec
I don’t have on and off time, I just use it continuously… but you can try
What position to lie in while using TENS?
You can lie down on your back, with a pillow under your neck and another one under your knees
Thanks for the settings. I have been using tens but with different settings and things are better while using tens but overall the condition has not improved. Hopefully the new settings will make a difference?
Hopefully! Also, make sure that the intensity is not too high: you should feel muscle activity, but no painful contraction ;)
How many 30 minute sessions do you suggest per day?
at first, just 2 to make sure that it does not hurt. Then, as many as you want...
Thank you!
Is level 25 too high?
It depends on many parameters: age of the electrodes, battery level, placement, skin etc. So just stock to this rule: never cause pain to yourself. Feel something happening, but it shouldn’t be called pain.
@OlivierGirard nice one thanks, just received the Bauer, was trying it put for the first time. only felt 2 electrodes working on the lower side of the muscle. checked the connections etc
In which kind of therapy and program you set the parameters?
On the Beurer EM 49 or EM 59, I set to EMS, prog. #33, freq. 2Hz, 250 micros seconds, 30 min. Does this help?
Hi. In the video you seem to say programme 34 but in the reply to comments you list programme 33. Please could you confirm which it is. I am waiting for my Beurer EM 49 to arrive and looking forward to getting started. Thank you
good point! It’s 33… but that doesn’t make a huge difference: both are customizable programs so you can use either one :)
@@OlivierGirard thank you very much
@@OlivierGirard I am getting good results with the programme you suggest. I am using it every day. Is that OK?