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Background: Non-weight-bearing joint fixation causes severe joint contracture, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is assumed to have a preventive effect. However, the effective intervention frequency of NMES for preventing joint contractures has not yet been clarified. Objective: To clarify the effective intervention frequency of NMES for preventing joint contracture caused by joint fixation in non-weight-bearing rats. Methods: Ten-week-old male Wistar rats underwent right ankle joint fixation in full plantar flexion with non-weight-bearing hindlimbs for 1 week. The rats were divided into three groups: non-weight-bearing joint fixation without NMES (NS group), non-weight-bearing joint fixation with one NMES per day (electrical stimulation one time [1T ES group]), and non-weight-bearing joint fixation with two NMESs per day (electrical stimulation two times [2T ES group]). We evaluated ankle dorsiflexion angle, extensibility, amounts of types I and III collagen, cross-sectional area, and wet weight of the soleus muscle-to-body weight ratio. Results: The ankle dorsiflexion angle and extensibility of the soleus muscle on the last day of the experiment were higher in the 1T ES and 2T ES groups than in the NS group. The ankle dorsiflexion angle on the last day of the experiment was higher in the 2T ES group than in the 1T ES group. Conclusion: NMES twice daily had a greater preventive effect on joint contracture caused by joint fixation with non-weight-bearing than NMES once daily.
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Sato et al. (2026) studied this question.
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