Key result
Pre-exercise microcurrent electrical stimulation speeds muscle deoxyhemoglobin kinetics by ~1.4 seconds versus sham.
Why the study?
Because MENS is believed to alter blood flow and cutaneous perfusion, investigators sought to evaluate its short-term effects on constant-load exercise and subsequent recovery.
Does microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulation improve muscle endurance capacity and subsequent recovery in healthy subjects?
RCT (n=10)
single-blind
random order
No
Does microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulation improve muscle endurance capacity and subsequent recovery in healthy subjects?
Mean Difference: -1.37
Absolute Event Rate: 4.43% vs 5.8%
p-value: p=0.008
MENS applied before exercise enhances muscle microvascular oxygen extraction, and when applied after exercise, improves parasympathetic reactivation for faster recovery.
Pre-exercise MENS may accelerate muscle oxygen extraction in healthy adults; extends surrogate RCT data but leaves clinical adoption open.
Microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulation (MENS) is believed to alter blood flow, increasing cutaneous blood perfusion, with vasodilation and hyperemia. According to these physiological mechanisms, we investigated the short-term effects of MENS on constant-load exercise and the subsequent recovery process. Ten healthy subjects performed, on separate days, constant-load cycling, which was preceded and followed by active or inactive stimulation to the right quadricep. Blood lactate, pulmonary oxygen, and muscle deoxyhemoglobin on-transition kinetics were recorded. Hemodynamic parameters, heart rate variability, and baroreflex sensitivity were collected and used as a tool to investigate the recovery process. Microcurrent stimulation caused a faster deoxyhemoglobin (4.43 ± 0.5 vs. 5.80 ± 0.5 s) and a slower VO2 (25.19 ± 2.1 vs. 21.94 ± 1.3 s) on-kinetics during cycling, with higher lactate levels immediately after treatments executed before exercise (1.55 ± 0.1 vs. 1.40 ± 0.1 mmol/L) and after exercise (2.15 ± 0.1 vs. 1.79 ± 0.1 mmol/L). In conclusion, MENS applied before exercise produced an increase in oxygen extraction at muscle microvasculature. In contrast, MENS applied after exercise improved recovery, with the sympathovagal balance shifted toward a state of parasympathetic predominance. MENS also caused higher lactate values, which may be due to the magnitude of the muscular stress by both manual treatment and electrical stimulation than control condition in which the muscle received only a manual treatment.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Piras et al. (2021) conducted an RCT in healthy subjects (n=10). Microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulation (MENS) vs. Sham stimulation was evaluated on Deoxyhemoglobin on-transition kinetics (mean diff. -1.37, p=0.008). Microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulation applied before exercise produced faster muscle deoxyhemoglobin on-transition kinetics compared to sham stimulation (4.43 vs. 5.80 s).
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: