How Compex became the global reference in EMS, performance, recovery and pain relief

For 40 years, Compex has been a pioneer in electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), transforming scientific research into practical solutions for athletes, healthcare professionals, and active individuals worldwide.

From wired EMS devices to advanced wireless technology, Compex has continuously innovated to support muscle performance, recovery, pain relief, and rehabilitation. Celebrating 40 years of Compex means celebrating four decades of science, technology, and clinically measurable results.

A leading EMS brand built on unique technologies

Since its beginning, Compex has focused on developing unique EMS technologies designed to deliver the most effective, precise, and comfortable muscle stimulation. Each product generation reflects continuous improvement in stimulation accuracy, ease of use, and reliability.

Compex’s exclusive MI (Muscle Intelligence) technology acts like an intelligent coach that adapts stimulation to each muscle in real time. By automatically adjusting parameters to the user’s physiology, Compex improves comfort during electrostimulation, making sessions more effective. Greater comfort allows users to reach optimal intensity levels, which is key to achieving better results in muscle performance, recovery, and pain relief. This smart personalization turns advanced EMS technology into a more efficient and user-friendly experience.

Here are the unique and patented MI technologies provided by Compex:

• Mi-scan: does a short test scan of the muscle and automatically adjusts the parameters of the stimulation to your muscles.
• Mi-tens: makes it easier to adjust stimulation levels for pain relief programs. This setting is only available for the TENS and Tendinitis programs.
• Mi-action: combines voluntary contractions and stimulated contractions at your pace, meaning you are in control of your training. Users must actively contract the muscle first to start the stimulation from the device.
• Mi-autorange: sets the optimal level of stimulation to use for recovery and massage programs.

Compex’s evolution from wired to wireless muscle stimulators has made electrostimulation more accessible, flexible, and intuitive without compromising performance. This technological expertise has positioned Compex as a leading brand in muscle stimulation worldwide.

Scientific studies and Swiss-based R&D at the core of Compex

Based in Ecublens, Switzerland, Compex R&D relies on a dedicated team of more than 10 engineers, combining expertise in biomedical engineering, electronics, and muscle physiology to continuously improve EMS performance, comfort, and reliability.

Our programs are supported by scientific studies, reinforcing the effectiveness of EMS for training, recovery, pain management, and muscle relaxation.

This strong scientific foundation allows Compex to deliver solutions trusted not only by elite athletes, but also by sports and healthcare professionals across the world.

Compex muscle stimulators belong to medical device category class II and meet the requirements of the European Medical Standard 93/42 EEC. This means that Compex muscle stimulators meet strict European requirements for safety, performance, and clinical evaluation, reinforcing our credibility for medical and professional use.

That’s the reason why we can proudly say that with Compex, you can:

• Increase your strength up to +27%
• Increase your explosiveness up to +15%
• Increase your vertical jump up to +14%
• Increase your muscle volume in average +8%
• Increase your VO2max up to+7%
• Reduce your blood lactate concentration by40%
• Improve your local blood circulation up to 3x more in a stimulated muscle
• Decrease your pain up to 70% with TENS program

Proven results with EMS backed by Voice of Customer data

Beyond science, Compex focuses on real-life outcomes. Our Voice of Customer (VOC) survey results highlight the strong positive perception and effectiveness of Compex muscle stimulators:

• 95% overall satisfaction rate
• 98% of users find the stimulation comfortable
• 91% of frequent users report visible physical improvements

When it comes to specific benefits, users consistently report high effectiveness:

• Pain relief: over 79% rate Compex as very effective or effective
• Muscle recovery: over 86% report very effective/effective results
• Rlaxation and massage: over 84% experience significant benefits
• Muscle strength: over 87% report an increase in their strength

These results confirm the role of EMS as a powerful tool for muscle recovery, pain relief, and physical well-being.

Compex is trusted by elite athletes and sports professionals

Over the past 40 years, Compex has built strong partnerships with top athletes, sports federations, and medical experts. Today, Compex muscle stimulators are widely recommended by sports professionals as part of strength & conditioning and recovery protocols.

This trust is built on consistent results, scientific validation, and decades of field experience.

In 2026, we are proud to be partnering with the following clubs and sports federations:

Trusted by nearly 2 million users worldwide

With over 1.7 million units sold, Compex has established itself as the global reference in electrical muscle stimulation. Yet innovation remains central to the brand’s mission.

As Compex enters its next chapter, the focus remains clear: continue developing cutting-edge EMS solutions that help people move better, recover faster, improve their muscle health, and perform at their best.

The future of Compex is just around the corner. Stay tuned.

Our leaders talk about Compex and their experience

Arnaud Marie – General Manager for Compex

I'm the general manager for Compex International and I've been working for Compex for 22 years.

Compex is designed as a daily partner to support individuals in achieving their goals. Originally focused on medical applications and elite athletes, Compex has evolved to serve performers preparing for competitions and now provides solutions for a broad user base. To explain Compex in 10 seconds: it’s a portable, pocket-sized training device you can take anywhere, to relieve pain, recover faster, or train.

What sets Compex apart from other competitors is the quality of our products, particularly the science behind our stimulation impulse. Our priority is to provide end users with optimal product solutions so that they can focus on their targets. The most significant innovation we have developed over the past 40 years is our patented Muscle Intelligence Technology. It represents a major milestone for Compex, as it ensures that users are always using the product optimally, with the highest level of stimulation quality we can deliver. This patented technology is unique and exclusive to our brand.

In 10 years, I see Compex offering even more advanced products. Our ambition is to be part of everyone’s daily life. Whether you want to stay active or participate in an Ironman, Compex will be there by your side, with new product ranges driven by innovation. Thanks to new technologies, we aim to deliver an even better user experience and make our solutions accessible to more people.

Nicolas Fontaine - Director of R&D for Recovery Sciences at Enovis.

I joined Compex Medical SA 25 years ago as an embedded software engineer with my background in electrical engineering. Since the early times the company has been based near Lausanne, Switzerland, where its R&D activities take place- this is then kind of an iconic location for the brand. Being close to top engineering schools like EPFL, ETH Zurich and others like HEIG-VD strengthens our connections to top class technical education as well as talents pool. The area is also rich in medical devices, major companies, startups, microtechnology centers and hospitals, supporting industry collaboration. The watches industry is very present in this part of Switzerland and certainly inspires all of us when it relates to micro-engineering. Switzerland, ranked number one in innovation for 15 consecutive years, makes this an ideal spot for Compex's R&D.

In the R&D department, we possess diverse skills. This includes mechanical design for shaping and designing casings parts or smaller metallic pieces, and electronic design for printed circuit boards and their components. Our software engineers develop locally made software to operate microcontrollers within our devices. Particular attention is placed in the product integration so that together, mechanical, electronic, and software design form a small, lightweight and easy to use product.

Prototyping is also central to our process to quickly validate concepts and detects early what needs to be improved; we can learn 3D print enclosures onsite and collaborate with local partners for rapid printed circuit board production. Our testing is performed locally, often with the support of the broader group.

Summarizing Compex DNA in one sentence is challenging, but safety and product efficacy are key. Compex aims to provide comfort and empower users by partnering with them in training and daily life—to help them improve, relieve pain, and recover. As health and lifestyle matter increasingly today, Compex remains relevant for those who prioritize their well-being.

For 40 years at Compex, the same type of impulse has been used for NMES and TENS. It is known as “square, biphasic, symmetric”, current controlled. That sounds a bit technical, but it says what it means.  Internally we often refer to it as the "golden pulse," since it consistently yields the most efficient results, remains the most comfortable waveform for users and can be implemented on a small footprint by engineers.

Matteo Morbatti - Product Manager for Compex.

I've been with Compex for 24 years. Initially, Compex was just a company, not a brand, but now it is recognized as a brand and is part of the Enovis group.

What’s stayed the same is the DNA of Compex products since I joined. We still focus on performance, safety, comfort, and designing products for everyone.

What sets our products apart from the competition is mainly their power and comfort. A powerful device is useless if it's not comfortable. Our products are effectively used by top athletes, which isn’t the case for all brands, and we’ve been in the market for over 40 years, which truly differentiates us.

The most impressive innovation for me was the wireless technology launched in 2011. We were the first to bring powerful products in such a compact form, offering strong muscle contractions- essential for conditioning programs.

I’m most proud of our relationships with athletes — joining training camps and demonstrating the product in real-world conditions. I’m also proud that, as mentioned earlier, these athletes rely on Compex as part of their regular training routines (for example, to strengthen specific muscle groups, recover after intense sessions, or relieve their pain).

One key feature that makes Compex stand out is its internal technology, which delivers safe, comfortable impulses to reach deep muscle fibers for effective results in conditioning.

After 40 years, Compex remains relevant because we've sold nearly 2 million products and are the only brand offering conditioning, recovery, and pain relief in a portable device - making it easy to travel with and use anytime.

 Elisa Fuenteseca Ortiz - Project Management Office Leader at Compex.

I started at Compex in October 2015 as project manager. Since 4 years now I oversee the project managers team. Despite its relatively small team, Compex achieves impressive product development results thanks to strong team expertise in different domains such as electronics, mechanics, and software.

Continuous improvement is central to our work. We focus on enhancing products, processes and team relationships whenever is possible.

Our development process has five stages:

·         Business case: Driven by marketing, this phase defines user requirements, clinical outcomes and associated business plan.

·         Concept design: Key project components are assessed for impact on performance, cost and schedule. This phase involves regulatory, clinical, and technological evaluations, extensive prototyping, and risk analysis to identify optimal solutions.

·         Detailed design: concepts are translated into detailed design requirements and design outputs. Design is verified and tested safe and secure.

·         Design transfer: Design becomes manufacturable, manufacturing processes are validated, production lines are set up, product is ready for mass production.

·         Sales authorization: Focus shifts to stock maintenance and regulatory approvals, ensuring compliance across regions before launch.

Compex team has developed all along its history strong project management knowledge and skills that are fundamental to successfully coordinate all these 5 stages work.

Compex is part of Enovis. Enovis is focused on developing clinically differentiated therapeutic solutions that generate measurably better patient outcomes and transform workflows. Powered by a culture of continuous improvement, extraordinary talent and innovation - we “create better together” by partnering with healthcare professionals. Together, we help patients thrive through an extensive range of products, services and integrated technologies that fuel an active lifestyle.