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| Vol. 18, No. 35 | June 24, 1999 |
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| Vol. 18, No. 35 | June 24, 1999 |
Muscle shockers," small devices purported to build muscle through electrical stimulation, are "really dangerous and painful," said University of Delaware researcher Lynn Snyder-Mackler. She debunked the illegal gadgets on a Dateline NBC television segment that aired Tuesday.
Following an extensive, nationwide search for experts, Snyder-Mackler, physical therapy, was invited to assist Dateline consumer reporters with their investigation of muscle shockers.
"We called all over the country, and even to Canada, and everyone we contacted seemed to be referring us back to Lynn and [UD's] Stuart Binder-Macleod," Dateline producer Sandra Thomas explained. "We checked her out, and everyone spoke very highly of her, and of her work."
Snyder-Mackler also knows how to communicate with a general audience, Thomas said. "She's not afraid to say what she thinks and put it in plain English."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved muscle shockers for sale to consumers, yet the devices are commonly sold through magazine advertisements, according to Thomas. "Users typically want to be able to sit on the couch and eat potato chips, but get big muscles by shocking themselves with these things!" she reported.
The Dateline crew set out to test the effectiveness and safety of two muscle shockers being marketed to consumers, each priced around $300. (Some models cost up to $1,300.)
In Snyder-Mackler's laboratory, the devices were used on Dateline correspondent Lea Thompson, who was seated in a specially designed chair. Sensors on Thompson's legs recorded the response of her muscles, and that data was then fed into a computer for analysis.
One of the devices was "too weak to cause any muscle contractions" and, therefore, couldn't possibly promote muscle toning, Snyder-Mackler said.
The second device, turned to its highest setting, was painful to Thompson. Even worse, Snyder-Mackler said, users could risk jamming a joint or tearing a muscle.
To study the muscle shockers, Snyder-Mackler relied on equipment that has previously allowed her to shed light on torn knee ligaments. Binder-Macleod uses the instrumentations in his studies of people with muscle paralysis. Their work involves electrical stimulation devices approved for use by skilled professionals in strictly controlled, clinical settings. UD's Department of Physical Therapy is a top 10 graduate program, according to U.S. News & World Report.
-Ginger Pinholster
