Risks of EMS Training complete guide

Introduction

Over the last few years, you’ve probably continued to see people on your social media feeds wearing strange black belts. The belts are stimulating muscles with electricity as part of a training technique known as electrical muscle stimulation or EMS and it’s becoming more popular every day. While medical studies have shown that EMS training can be effective for toning muscles, there are still risks involved that users should know about before they strap on their first belt.

Tendon or muscle strain.

Strain.

This is the most common injury and can be caused by anything from overuse to sudden exertion. It’s a stretching or tearing of muscle fibers, which can cause pain and swelling. Strains are more common in people who are overweight, or who have recently gained weight.

Muscle tear.

Tears occur when the muscle is stretched past its limit and has no choice but to rip apart on impact (think sprained ankle). Though they heal faster than strains do—usually within one week—it’s still important that you take care of them appropriately so they don’t become infected and prolong your recovery time.

Abdominal pain.

If you experience abdominal pain after EMS training, it may be due to a number of things. EMS training can cause abdominal pain as well as other injuries.

EMS training-related abdominal pain is one type of injury that can occur during EMS training. Abdominal pain is the most common EMS training injury, accounting for approximately half of all injuries experienced by trainees in this field.

Electrode burns.

Electrode burns are the most common EMS training injury. They can be caused by improper electrode placement, improper electrode size, or improper electrode type.

Proper placement of the electrodes is important for a safe and effective shock. The electrodes should be placed on opposite sides of the chest (i.e., one on each side of the sternum). If you place one electrode directly over another, you may receive a double dose of electricity when you deliver an electric shock to your patient via those two points simultaneously—which could cause burns or even death if not treated immediately.[1]

A few days after your first day of training, you may notice some red or pink spots on the skin where you wore your gloves. These are usually caused by an allergic reaction to the latex in the gloves. Some people are more sensitive than others and will develop a rash even if they’ve worn gloves before.
Most rashes from EMS training are mild and can be treated with hydrocortisone cream, which you can buy at any pharmacy without a prescription (ask for a tube of 1% hydrocortisone ointment).

In rare cases, the rash becomes very bad and requires emergency treatment with oral steroids such as prednisone; this is particularly true if there’s swelling around part of your body such as one eye or leg, which is sometimes called “angioedema”. If this happens to you while taking an ambulance ride, talk to your paramedic immediately so they can give you epinephrine injections during transport—this will help restore blood flow through blocked vessels so that swelling goes down faster!

If possible, try not to wash off any remaining residue left over from applying lotion after EMS training exercises; this helps prevent further irritation from occurring on already irritated skin patches later on down the road (such as when washing hands after clinical).
Heart problems if you already have a heart condition.

If you already have a heart condition, it’s important to tell your instructor so that they can make the right decisions about the best way for you to train. Your instructor should be able to tell you if you can take the training or not, and if not, whether there is another type of EMS training that will work better for your medical needs.

It is also important to bring up any other conditions that could affect your performance in EMS classes (such as asthma) so that instructors can help address them before they become an issue during class time.

Serious injuries from EMS training are very rare but they should not be discounted.
While the risks of EMS training are not as great as some people think, they do exist. And while serious injuries are very rare, they should not be discounted.

For example, one study found that musculoskeletal injuries accounted for 55% of all EMS training-related injuries [1]. These included muscle strains/tendonitis, back pain, and arthritis. 

Muscle strain is by far the most common injury during EMS training: it occurred in about 40% of cases studied 2:EMS students must also understand that their training can have a negative impact on existing medical conditions. For example, if you have had a heart attack or other type of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the past five years before enrolling in an EMT program then it’s probably best to consider another career path (if possible). This is because CVDs can worsen when subjected to increased physical exertion such as running around with heavy equipment under stressful situations. The risk here isn’t just that someone might die—it’s also that they could suffer permanent damage.

Conclusion

This can be a serious issue for military personnel and other people who want to use EMS training as an exercise. It’s important that you listen to your body and stop exercising if you feel pain in any part of it. You should also not exercise more than twice per day, because this can lead to overuse injuries that may take longer than usual to heal.