Key result
Arm-cranking with electrical muscle stimulation reduces arterial stiffness ~9% versus arm-cranking alone.
Why the study?
Patients with spinal cord injury or lower limb osteoarthritis cannot perform lower limb endurance exercises, and whether arm-cranking exercise with electrical muscle stimulation can improve arterial stiffness has not been fully clarified.
Does arm-cranking exercise with electrical muscle stimulation reduce arterial stiffness in healthy young men?
Does arm-cranking exercise with electrical muscle stimulation reduce arterial stiffness in healthy young men?
Absolute Event Rate: 1082.6% vs 1191.7%
p-value: p=< 0.05
Adding electrical muscle stimulation of the lower limbs to submaximal arm-cranking exercise acutely reduces arterial stiffness in healthy young men, offering a potential cardiovascular exercise strategy for those unable to use their lower limbs.
Offers potential exercise strategy for lower-limb impaired patients; extends acute vascular effects of combined arm-cranking and EMS.
Endurance exercises such as cycling and running are useful for improving the arterial function and preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, subjects suffering from spinal cord injury (SCI) or lower limb osteoarthritis (OA) cannot perform these kinds of lower limb exercises. Recently, electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) has been shown to be able to increase the muscle strength and blood flow and improve the peripheral circulation. Arm-cranking exercises with EMS may therefore be able to reduce the risk of CVD for patients with SCI and lower OA. However, this point has not been fully clarified. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of submaximal arm-cranking exercise with EMS on arterial stiffness. Ten healthy young subjects performed submaximal arm-cranking exercise alone (A) and submaximal arm-cranking exercise with EMS (A+E). In the A+E trial, the submaximal arm-cranking exercise was performed at 30%VO2 max for 20 min while EMS was applied to their thigh and calf muscles during the exercise. The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) and heart rate (HR) were measured before and after each exercise. Immediately after the exercise session, the HR of the subjects in the A+E trial was significantly elevated in comparison to those in the A trial. The SBP and DBP did not differ between the two trials to a statistically significant extent. In the A+E trial, the ba-PWV was significantly reduced immediately after exercise in comparison to the A trial (1082.6 ± 105.9 cm·sec-1 vs. 1191.7 ± 86.7 cm·sec-1, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that arm-cranking exercise with EMS reduces arterial stiffness and might be useful for reducing the risk of CVD.
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Ishikawa et al. (2019) studied Healthy young subjects (n=10). Submaximal arm-cranking exercise with electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) vs. Submaximal arm-cranking exercise alone was evaluated on brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV) (p=< 0.05). Submaximal arm-cranking exercise with electrical muscle stimulation significantly reduced arterial stiffness (ba-PWV) compared to arm-cranking alone (1082.6 vs. 1191.7 cm/sec, p < 0.05).
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