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How Does the Activity in the Muscle Cause the Pump Effect?
An outer compression on a relaxed muscle will not cause any changes in the muscle. Moving a relaxed muscle requires a relatively high pressure, circular if possible, around the whole extremity, and this would cause a build-up of blood. But tensing and stretching a muscle, produces a compression of all its capillaries. Blood is then pressed into the veins. And in the following relaxation phase, new arterial blood flows into the capillaries and the cycle can begin again. The rhythmical change of the muscle length - its longitudinal vibration -- is what BMS® produces in an ideal way. The amount of tension needed to produce the longitudinal vibration varies with the state of the muscle. The more the muscle is stretched, the lower the amount of tension is needed to produce an activity tremor. A relaxed muscle would need great assistance.
Tension changes also have a frequency dimension. Fewer tension changes are required after beginning with a higher tension level. The frequency of a vibration depends on its activity level. For example, as with a stretched guitar string, the tighter the string is stretched, the higher its frequency is. Experiments on isolated or partly isolated muscles have proven this to be true. Tests also have shown that after application of BMS®, the longitudinal vibration or pump function of a muscle increases by 30%, as compared with traditional methods which show an increase of only 10%. The similarity of the pump function of the muscles to the actual heart, should be kept in mind. The heart can be seen as a specially equipped capillary in its evolutionary history. Muscles and organs are all connected through the circulatory system. Therefore, the BMS® application to one muscle is beneficial to circulatory and metabolic activities in all body parts. The Theory of the Impact on the Central Nervous System A further possible influence of BMS® on the human organism is the stimulation of the receptors of the neuro-muscular system. It is known that receptors, or sensors, exist in muscles, tendons and in the surrounding tissue. They correspond with the sensory nervous system. Any change in a muscle length produces a stimulation of the receptors, which process nerve impulses to the Central Nervous System (CNS). Mechano-receptors react to the smallest longitudinal change (10-11 um - the size of a hydrogen atom). Mechano-receptors are also called proprioceptors because they deliver kinesthetic information (awareness of position, movement and weight).
Changing the amplitude and frequency of a longitudinal muscle vibration, can strongly stimulate the mechano-receptors and therefore influence the CNS. The effect on the receptors does not depend as much on the strength of the stimulation as it does on its frequency (how fast the vibrations follow each other). The stimulation effect can be greatly effective in sports, rehabilitation and prevention. Frequencies and amplitudes which are optimal for the stimulation of the mechano-receptors, are not necessarily within the parameters used to increase the blood circulation. A choice must be made to address one or the other function. Tests have shown that the use of BMS® leads to better muscle tone, creates a feeling of lightness in the muscle, and produces the desire and energy to be more active. This feeling usually lasts as long as to two days. With BMS®, dominant movements, a sort of muscle-memory, can be built up in the neuro-muscular apparatus. When muscle obedience is lacking (for instance through illness, paralysis, muscle dystrophy, etc.) in the neuro-muscular apparatus, BMS® can be used to tone the muscles in order to develop muscle coordination and to learn certain movements and movement sequences. Muscles which are unable to activate themselves because of paralysis, stroke, spasm, etc. must be stretched and stimulated with outside help, for example by the hand of a physical trainer. During the BMS® training, the muscles warm up quickly; the sensitivity of the nerve endings increases; the impulses reach the Central Nervous System; and inactive structures slowly begin to be activated.