HI-FEM: a start for muscles that are hard to wake up.

HI-FEM is a magnetic muscle stimulator. At Body Guitar Clinic, Dr. Sean Wheeler uses it to strengthen muscles that are often too weak for a physical therapist to strengthen with exercise alone.

Why some muscles need help getting started

Age and back pain can leave your bracing muscles — the deep muscles that steady your spine — weak. In Body Guitar terms, the body goes out of tune. Tune Me is about bringing those muscles back into balance.

Sometimes a muscle is so weak that exercises for it are hard to do. Sometimes it is so weak that you cannot tighten it on purpose yet, because you cannot feel which muscle we are asking you to use. HI-FEM makes the muscle contract for you. That can be a starting point for strength, and for learning to tighten the muscle on your own.

Two muscles we often work on

The multifidus. This is a small but important muscle along your spine. HI-FEM can make it contract. That is the beginning of building strength there and learning to use it yourself.

The pelvic floor. These are the muscles at the base of your pelvis. Many people do not know how to tighten them properly. If you have back pain along with any of these, your pelvic floor may be weak:

• Leaking urine (incontinence)
• A weak urine stream
• Erection problems

For men, erection problems with a weak pelvic floor are different from a blood-flow problem alone. The pelvic floor muscles help hold blood in during arousal by pressing on the veins. When they are weak, more blood can drain out, and erections can be softer or shorter. These symptoms can have other causes too, so bring them up with Dr. Wheeler or your own doctor.

How it fits your plan

HI-FEM is not the whole plan. Some patients have found it a helpful way to kick-start strength, so they can do more with the other Tune Me tools, like walking, the vibration plate, and work on posture and motion.

HI-FEM has a cost of its own. We will talk it over with you before you start. Let’s have a conversation and see if it is right for you.

Who should not use HI-FEM

HI-FEM cannot be used if you have:

• A pacemaker
• Metal vascular clips
• An IUD
• A spinal cord stimulator
• Other implants

Tell us about any implant or device in your body before we start. This is a clinic tool that works alongside your doctor, not a replacement for your doctor, and it is not emergency care.

Related pages

• Vibration plate — another on-site tool for bracing-muscle strength
• Posture — how you hold still
• Motion — how you move, measured
• What now? — the plan after scores
• Contact — ask whether HI-FEM belongs in your visit

Not sure yet? Call (913) 291-2819 or contact us.