Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)
Millbrook Equine now offers state-of-the-art FES therapy for your horses!
Learn more about FES
FES is the application of computer-regulated electrical impulses to the skin in a waveform that mimics the motor neuron signal the brain sends to the muscle to cause a contraction.
This treatment can be beneficial as a primary therapy or can be used in conjunction with other treatment modalities for rehabilitation or in training.
It is considered “functional” electrical stimulation because the waveform replicates the normal contraction of the muscles being stimulated, just as if the brain itself had initiated the contraction. It therefore has the ability to treat both muscle spasm and muscle atrophy.
FES has been used successfully for several decades in the human medical field to restore normal function to injured tissue, most notably in patients with spinal cord injury.
During treatment, FES feels like a deep muscle massage because the sophisticated software mimics the electrical signals produced naturally between the brain and the body. FES treatments do not require sedation and horses can be ridden shortly after their treatments in most instances.