Scientists at the Federal University of São Paulo ran a randomized trial on 36 teen volleyball athletes.

A blinded tester measured leg muscle strength in N/kg, jump-and-reach height, two-minute jump count, and jump feel.

The NMES group rose from 6.9 to 9.5 N/kg on the dominant leg and from 7.1 to 10.9 N/kg on the other. Versus control, those gaps reached 1.8 and 3.1 N/kg at week eight. Jump height rose 5.3 cm inside the EMS group.

Springer published the ethics-approved, registered study.

Scientists at #1 Sport University in China (Shanghai University of Sport) tested 25 trained male badminton players in a peer-reviewed Sensors paper (2025; 25:577). Each man completed baseline, strength training only, then squats with EMS.

They measured jump smash height with Qualisys cameras and squat jumps with a jump tester.

 EMG tracked the rectus femoris. Jump smash rose from 51.34 to 53.22. Static squat jump rose from 53.76 to 56.32. Rectus femoris mean EMG rose from 0.42 to 0.63.

Those gains beat squats alone, suggesting EMS can help a badminton player’s explosive jump.

A 2016 Seoul hospital study tested  EMS  plus usual swallowing therapy in nine stroke patients with facial palsy.

Canadian scientists at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the University of Toronto tested therapist-guided functional electrical stimulation, a task-based form of EMS, after severe stroke.

In 2023, Texas scientists reviewed how electrical devices change pain and function.

They did not run a new patient trial. They weighed trials, reviews, and cohort studies from 2000 to 2023.

That paper trail is why the work is legit: named universities, a peer-reviewed Springer journal, and published methods.

They found the picture is mixed. EMS or NMES and FES had stronger rehab signals after stroke, spinal cord injury, and foot drop.

Some reports also showed better movement and less medicine in chronic-pain groups.

That is why readers should open the full post: to see which stimulator the evidence actually supports.

A controlled study at the University Hospital of Geneva tested EMS as FES in 120 people with painful, dropped shoulders after stroke.

All received Bobath rehab. Half also had five weeks of shoulder EMS. Scientists measured pain at rest and movement, a pain scale, x-rays of subluxation, and arm lift.

At 24 months, 80.7% of the FES group were pain-free versus 55.2% of controls. Joint position improved in 78.9% versus 58.6%. Arm lift recovered in 82.5% versus 60.3%.

Published in the peer-reviewed Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, those figures suggest EMS can help post-stroke shoulders.

Read the full post for methods, timelines, and the full results.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins, Emory, Kessler and MetroHealth tested clinic EMS after stroke.

They randomly assigned 132 people with weak hands to CCFES, cyclic stimulation, or training alone.

Blinded therapists scored the Box and Block Test, Fugl-Meyer arm scale and ARAT across 36 weeks.

All groups gained dexterity. CCFES raised impairment scores by 8.1 points versus 3.7 and 4.4. Sixty-seven percent made a meaningful Fugl-Meyer gain, against 42% and 38%.

The NIH-funded trial appeared in Stroke, an American Heart Association journal.

Those figures suggest guided electrical stimulation can aid hand function. The full post has the dose, safety data and limits.

https://oriems.fit/blogs/research-digest/stroke-trial-ems-hand-recovery

Clinicians and engineers at the University of Glasgow and University of Strathclyde ran a randomised trial of 60 people two to four weeks after stroke.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham reviewed 20 randomised trials of  EMS  used as FES after stroke.

They tracked 431 adults: 238 received stimulation plus usual rehab, 193 received usual care.

Objective daily-living scores improved when   EMS  began within two months (SMD 1.24).

The Fugl-Meyer arm score rose 6.72 points overall and 11.11 points in that early window. Treatment after one year showed little gain. 

The paper was peer-reviewed in Systematic Reviews and pre-registered. Quality was low, yet the early figures suggest   EMS  may support recovery.

Read the full post for muscles, session times, and limits.

Belgian, Ghent and Antwerp scientists pooled 23 randomised trials on 933 adults after stroke.