Effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation training on muscle size in collegiate track and field athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation training for 12 weeks on the abdominal muscle size in trained athletes. Male collegiate track and field athletes participated in the present study and were randomly allocated to either training or control groups. Eleven participants of the training group completed a 60-session training program over a 12-week period (23 min/session, 5 days/week) involving neuromuscular electrical stimulation (mostly 20 Hz) for the abdominal muscles in addition to their usual training for the own events. The participants of the control group (n = 13) continued their usual training. Before and after the intervention period, cross-sectional areas of the rectus abdominis and abdominal oblique muscles (the internal and external obliques and transversus abdominis) and subcutaneous fat thickness were measured with magnetic resonance and ultrasound imaging. There were no significant changes in cross-sectional area of the rectus abdominis or abdominal oblique muscles or in subcutaneous fat thickness in the training or control groups after the intervention period. The change in cross-sectional area of the rectus abdominis in each participant was not significantly correlated with pre-training cross-sectional area and neither was the mean value of fat thickness at pre- and post-training. These results suggest that low-frequency (20 Hz) neuromuscular electrical stimulation training for 12 weeks is ineffective in inducing hypertrophy of the abdominal muscles in trained athletes, even when they have a thin layer of subcutaneous fat.

Transcutaneous and Direct Electrical Stimulation of Mouse Sciatic Nerve Accelerates Functional Recovery After Nerve Transection and Immediate Repair

“…Willand et al 27,37 have shown in rats that electrically stimulating denervated gastrocnemius muscle for 1 hour per day for 1 month yielded significantly bigger muscle mass with stronger twitch forces and more type I fibers. Electrical muscle stimulation has also been studied in humans, from aiding the frail elderly in improving lower limb strength or improving lean body mass in athletes, with diverging results as to its efficacy 38,39 …”

“…Electrical muscle stimulation has also been studied in humans, from aiding the frail elderly in improving lower limb strength or improving lean body mass in athletes, with diverging results as to its efficacy. 38,39…”

Effects of Functional Training on Proprioception in Sport Athletes

“…Functional training is an innovative training method and section, it can improve the disadvantages of traditional mass training. 3,4…”

Viability of ex-vivo myography as a diagnostic tool for rectus abdominis muscle electrical activity collected at Cesarean section within a diamater cohort study

“…The challenge of identifying such abnormalities of RAM contractility is overcome by its accessibility during C-sections allowing detailed studies of the muscle contractility [15][16][17]. For this analysis, the ex-vivo myography of RAM samples may clarify the knowledge of the pathophysiology of diseases and disorders that affect the RAM [17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

“…The challenge of identifying such abnormalities of RAM contractility is overcome by its accessibility during C-sections allowing detailed studies of the muscle contractility [15][16][17]. For this analysis, the ex-vivo myography of RAM samples may clarify the knowledge of the pathophysiology of diseases and disorders that affect the RAM [17][18][19][20][21][22]. Although it is widely known that the ex-vivo myography is used to record muscle contractility through the myogram, a tracing graphic recording [18,19,23], that requires tendon attachments through the myograph [24][25][26].…”