Lack of effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation upon experimentally induced delayed onset muscle soreness in humans

Abstract

The aim of the current study, for which ethical approval was obtained, was to assess the hypoalgesic efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) upon acute stage (72 h) experimentally induced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). TENS naive subjects (n = 48; 24 male and 24 female) were recruited, screened for relevant pathology and randomly allocated to one of four experimental groups: control, placebo, low TENS (200 microseconds; 4 Hz) or high TENS group (200 microseconds; 110 Hz). DOMS was induced in a standardised fashion in the non-dominant elbow flexors of all subjects by repeated eccentric exercise. Subjects attended on three consecutive days for treatment and measurement of elbow flexion, extension and resting angle (Universal goniometer), Mechanical Pain Threshold/tenderness (algometer) and pain (Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)) on a daily basis, plus McGill Pain Questionnaire on the third day only. Measurements were taken before and after treatment under controlled double blinded conditions. Analysis of results using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc tests showed some inconsistent isolated effects of high TENS (110 Hz) compared to the other conditions upon resting angle and flexion scores; no significant effects were found for any of the other variables. These results provide no convincing evidence for any measurable hypoalgesic effects of TENS upon DOMS-associated pain at the stimulation parameters used here.

Low intensity monochromatic infrared therapy: A preliminary study of the effects of a novel treatment unit upon experimental muscle soreness

“…Although not statistically significant, results indicated that the CLILT treatment group suffered from a slightly greater degree of pain than either the Placebo or Control groups. While perhaps surprising, these findings are in keeping with those of similar experimental studies on DOMS that used other pharmacologic and physical agents, none of which have been consistently shown to be effective for the condition [6][7][8][9][10].…”

The efficacy of frequency specific microcurrent therapy on delayed onset muscle soreness

“…TENS devices provide up to 60 times higher current levels than that seen to decrease ATP production which may explain why TENS units have not been found to be effective in treatment of DOMS (Craig et al, 1996). Typical microcurrent applications use only low and simple one channel frequencies such as 0.3 Hz, 3 Hz, 10 Hz, 30 Hz, and 300 Hz (Manley, 1994;Allen et al, 1999).…”

Does electrical stimulation enhance post-exercise performance recovery?

“…Site of pain Low-Frequency Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) Craig et al (1996) exercise does not appear more effective to accelerate recovery. This conclusion has been obtained using 30 min MHVS (high-frequency stimulations at sensory intensity) repeated eight times within 5 days after the fatiguing exercise (McLoughlin et al 2004).…”

“…Conflicting results are however often reported. Craig et al (1996) compared the effectiveness of high and low-frequency TENS on subjective pain scores. Although some lower pain scores were obtained with both TENS treatments, no statistical significant effect was noticed among the conditions (high and low frequency TENS vs. placebo and control).…”