Which inhibition technique should be used with caution and may fatigue muscle if prolonged, but may enhance strength, sensory awareness, and coordination?

• A. Massage and Myofascial Release
• B. Hippotherapy
• C. Neuromuscular E-Stim (NMES)
• D. Vibration

Answer: (C)

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation can be used to modulate abnormal muscle tone by delivering controlled, purposeful contractions through surface stimulation. When applied cautiously, NMES can interrupt excessive, involuntary muscle activity and retrain movement patterns. A key point is that repeated or prolonged electrical contractions can tire a muscle, so dosing—intensity, duration, and rest intervals—must be carefully managed. Despite that fatigue risk, NMES offers notable benefits: it can build strength in weak or underused muscles, enhance sensory awareness through proprioceptive feedback from the contracting muscle and skin sensations, and improve coordination as the patient practices steady, resisted movements with augmented sensory input. Other techniques are primarily aimed at relaxation or sensory/motor tasks and don’t pair the same strengthening and sensory-motor retraining through elicited muscle contractions, nor do they carry the same fatigue considerations as NMES.