Reduction in Fatigue
- Low-frequency electrical stimulation increases muscle strength and improves blood supply in patients with chronic heart failure
- Effects of low-frequency electrical stimulation of quadriceps and calf muscles in patients with chronic heart failure
- Acupressure and Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation in improving fatigue, sleep quality and depression in hemodialysis patients
- Assessment of low-frequency fatigue with two methods of electrical stimulation
- Randomised controlled trial of transcutaneous electrical muscle stimulation of the lower extremities in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Improvement of physical performance by transcutaneous nerve stimulation in athletes
1. Low-frequency electrical stimulation increases muscle strength and improves blood supply in patients with chronic heart failure.
Dobsak P, Novakova M, Siegelova J, Fiser B, Vitovec J, Nagasaka M, Kohzuki M, Yambe T, Nitta S, Eicher JC, Wolf JE, Imachi K.
Department of Functional Diagnostics and Rehabilitation.
BACKGROUND: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of low-frequency electrical stimulation (LFES) on muscle strength and blood flow in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with CHF (n=15; age 56.5 +/- 5.2 years; New York Heart Association III - IV; ejection fraction 18.7 +/- 3.3%) were examined before and after 6 weeks of LFES (10 Hz) of the quadriceps and calf muscles of both legs (1 h/day, 7 days/week). Dynamometry was performed weekly to determine maximal muscle strength (F(max); N) and isokinetic peak torque (PT(max); Nm); blood flow velocity (BFV) was measured at baseline and after 6 weeks of LFES using pulsed-wave Doppler velocimetry of the right femoral artery. Six weeks of LFES significantly increased F(max) (from 224.5 +/- 96.8 N to 340.0 +/- 99.4 N; p<0.001), and also PT(max) (from 94.5 +/- 41.5 Nm to 135.3 +/- 28.8 Nm; p<0.01). BFV in the femoral artery increased after 6 weeks from 35.7 +/- 15.4 cm/s to 48.2 +/- 18.1 cm/s (p<0.05); BFV values at rest before and after 6 weeks of LFES did not differ significantly. CONCLUSIONS: LFES may improve muscle strength and blood supply, and could be recommended for the treatment of patients with severe CHF.
PMID: 16377928 [PubMed - in process]
2. Effects of low-frequency electrical stimulation of quadriceps and calf muscles in patients with chronic heart failure.
Maillefert JF, Eicher JC, Walker P, Dulieu V, Rouhier-Marcer I, Branly F, Cohen M, Brunotte F, Wolf JE, Casillas JM, Didier JP.
Centre de Cardiologie Clinique et Interventionnelle, Chu Dijon, France.
PURPOSE: The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the effects of low-frequency electrical stimulation of quadriceps and calf muscles on global exercise capacities, skeletal muscle metabolism, calf muscle volume, and cardiac output in patients with chronic heart failure. METHODS: Fourteen patients with chronic heart failure (mean age of 56.4 years +/- 9.1 SD; mean radionuclide left ventricular ejection fraction of 22.3% +/- 8.8 SD) underwent 5 weeks (1 hour per day, 5 days per week) of low-frequency electrical stimulation of quadriceps and calf muscles. RESULTS: Low-frequency electrical stimulation was well tolerated. Exercise capacity and the calf muscles volumes increased significantly after rehabilitation in comparison with prior rehabilitation (the peak oxygen consumption increased from 17.2 mL/(kgmin) +/- 5.3 SD to 19.6 mL/(kgmin) +/- 5.9 SD; the anaerobic threshold increased from 12.3 mL/(kgmin) +/- 3.2 SD to 15.2 mL/(kgmin) +/- 3.3 SD; the 6-minute walking test increased from 419 m +/- 122 SD to 459 m +/- 114.3 SD; the gastrocnemius volume increased from 259.4 cm3 +/- 58 SD to 273.4 cm3 +/- 74 SD, and the soleus volume increased from 319 cm3 +/- 42.9 SD to 338 cm3 +/- 52.5 SD). The New York Heart Association class was improved after rehabilitation. The P-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of gastrocnemius muscle data were not significantly modified after rehabilitation, thereby inferring that no significant improvement of the muscle metabolism occurred. These data reinforce the hypothesis of an increased muscle mass during stimulation. It is noteworthy that the electrical stimulation did not increase cardiac output at any stage; an enormous asset in favor of this mode of rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that low-frequency muscular electrical stimulation is well tolerated, induces an increased exercise capacity in patients with chronic heart failure, without an undesirable increase in cardiac output.
3. Acupressure and Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation in improving fatigue, sleep quality and depression in hemodialysis patients.
Tsay SL, Cho YC, Chen ML.
Graduate Institute of Nursing, National Taipei College of Nursing, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. sltsay@ntcn.edu.tw
The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of acupressure and Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation (TEAS) on fatigue, sleep quality and depression in patients who were receiving routine hemodialysis treatment. The study was a randomized controlled trial; qualified patients were randomly assigned to acupressure, TEAS or control groups. Patients in the acupressure and TEAS groups received 15 minutes of treatment 3 times a week for 1 month, whereas patients in the control group only received routine unit care. A total of 106 patients participated in the study. Methods of measurement included the revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Beck Depression Inventory. Data were collected at baseline, during the intervention and post-treatment. The results indicated that patients in the acupressure and TEAS groups had significantly lower levels of fatigue, a better sleep quality and less depressed moods compared with patients in the control group based upon the adjusted baseline differences. However, there were no differences between acupressure and TEAS groups in outcome measures. This study provides an alternative method for health care providers in managing dialysis patients with symptoms of fatigue, poor sleep or depression.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 15344424 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
4. Assessment of low-frequency fatigue with two methods of electrical stimulation.
Martin V, Millet GY, Martin A, Deley G, Lattier G.
INSERM/ERIT-M 0207 Motricite-Plasticite Laboratory, Faculty of Sports Sciences-Univ. of Bourgogne, BP 27877, 21078 Dijon Cedex, France. vincent.martin@u-bourgogne.fr
The aim of this study was to compare the use of transcutaneous vs. motor nerve stimulation in the evaluation of low-frequency fatigue. Nine female and eleven male subjects, all physically active, performed a 30-min downhill run on a motorized treadmill. Knee extensor muscle contractile characteristics were measured before, immediately after (Post), and 30 min after the fatiguing exercise (Post30) by using single twitches and 0.5-s tetani at 20 Hz (P20) and 80 Hz (P80). The P20-to-P80 ratio was calculated. Electrical stimulations were randomly applied either maximally to the femoral nerve or via large surface electrodes (ES) at an intensity sufficient to evoke 50% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) during a 80-Hz tetanus. Voluntary activation level was also determined during isometric MVC by the twitch-interpolation technique. Knee extensor MVC and voluntary activation level decreased at all points in time postexercise (P < 0.001). P20 and P80 displayed significant time x gender x stimulation method interactions (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively). Both stimulation methods detected significant torque reductions at Post and Post30. Overall, ES tended to detect a greater impairment at Post in male and a lesser one in female subjects at both Post and Post30. Interestingly, the P20-P80 ratio relative decrease did not differ between the two methods of stimulation. The low-to-high frequency ratio only demonstrated a significant time effect (P < 0.001). It can be concluded that low-frequency fatigue due to eccentric exercise appears to be accurately assessable by ES.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 15258127 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
5. Randomised controlled trial of transcutaneous electrical muscle stimulation of the lower extremities in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Bourjeily-Habr G, Rochester CL, Palermo F, Snyder P, Mohsenin V.
Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
BACKGROUND: Although exercise training improves exercise tolerance in most patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), some patients with severe disease may not be able to tolerate exercise training due to incapacitating breathlessness. Transcutaneous electrical muscle stimulation (TCEMS) has been shown to improve muscle strength, muscle mass, and performance in paraplegics, patients with knee ligament injury, and patients with peripheral vascular disease. We hypothesised that TCEMS of the lower extremities can improve muscle strength and exercise tolerance in patients with moderate to severe COPD. METHODS: A randomised controlled trial of TCEMS of the lower extremities was performed in 18 medically stable patients of mean (SD) age 60.0 (1.5) years with a mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) of 1.03 (0.10) l (38% predicted) and residual volume/total lung capacity (RV/TLC) of 59 (2)%. Stimulation of the lower extremities was performed three times a week, 20 minutes each session, for six continuous weeks. Quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength, exercise capacity, and peak oxygen uptake were measured at baseline and after 6 weeks of stimulation. RESULTS: TCEMS improved both the quadriceps strength (by 39.0 (20.4)% v 9.0 (8.1)%, p=0.046) and hamstring muscle strength (by 33.9 (13.0)% v 2.9 (4.7)%, p=0.038) in the treated (n=9) and sham treated (n=9) groups, respectively. The improvement in muscle strength carried over to better performance in the shuttle walk test in the treated group (36.1% v 1.6% in the treated and sham groups respectively, p=0.007, Mann-Whitney U test). There was no significant change in lung function, peak workload, or peak oxygen consumption in either group. Muscle stimulation was well tolerated by the patients with no dropouts and better than 95% compliance with the protocol. CONCLUSIONS: TCEMS of peripheral muscles can be a useful adjunct to the comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation of patients with COPD.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 12454299 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
6. Improvement of physical performance by transcutaneous nerve stimulation in athletes.
Kaada B .
The present pilot study tested the exercise response to transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TNS) of 21 volunteers, who were well-trained competitive athletes. In 62 experiments (n) they received low-frequency TNS (2 Hz) for 30-45 min prior to either a road or track race, swimming race, bicycle ergometer exercise, isometric muscular endurance test, or dynamometer hand grip test. Improvement in performance compared with a corresponding number of control tests, without TNS or with placebo stimulation in the same subjects, was almost regularly observed in running, swimming and ergometer cycling, although with great individual variations. The average improvement was 4.3 sec (2.2%) in 1.000 m road racing (n = 9); 2.3 sec (1.8%) in 800 m track racing (n = 5); 0.9 sec (1.4%) in 100 m swimming (n = 12); 1.3 sec (0.8%) in 200 m swimming (n = 6); and 2.5 sec (0.9%) in 400 m swimming (n = 3). In a bicycle ergometer test with stepwise, progressive exercise to muscular fatigue, the maximal capacity was increased by 9% (n = 4). Local isometric muscle endurance of the elbow flexors (n = 7) and hand grip strengths (n = 11) were not significantly altered. Possible mechanisms involved in the response to TNS are discussed.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
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Controlled Clinical Trial
PMID: 6151789 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
